The Coming of Darkness
by Aegis Dragon
Summary: Alex lived most of his life shut into an orphanage in Nuvema. But now, 18 and independent, he's free to leave and start his own journey, along with a new friend, Chari. But something stirs in the shadows. Something far worse than Team Plasma. Something dark and sinister. And before they know it, they find themselves right in the middle of it. And now they must run from everyone.
1. Chapter 1

**Aegis: Hey everyone! My name is Aegis Dragon. Most people just call me Aegis. Anyway, this is a reboot and rehash of a story that I'd abandoned not long after starting, this time with a friend to help me and keep me motivated. Say hello!**

 **DarkFoxKit: … Um… hello… everyone.**

 **Aegis: Heh. She's a bit shy, but she's good at writing. I'm helping her write her own story, a series called Child of Mew. So I asked if she'd like to help me out with my story since I find it so much fun to write with her.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, it was rather difficult to stay motivated writing Child of Mew, but it is my most popular story on the internet, so I wanted to keep going with it somehow. And I'm here to return the favor to Aegis for helping me out.**

 **Aegis: Come on. You don't need to feel like you owe me anything. If anything, I owe you for allowing me to be a part of such a great story. So this will make two that I owe you.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Oh, that's okay. Writing stories, or at least fanfiction stories, is my passion. I just like to help out the people I care about any way I can.**

 **Aegis: Glad to hear that. Anyway, a word of warning. This story is OC-centric, and it's not going to be like any story you've read before (at least, I hope not). There will be philosophical and religious themes within, and it's certainly not going to be about a typical trainer's typical journey. Like DarkFoxKit, my story is going to open new doors and introduce new things into the world of Pokemon. So if original content isn't your thing, turn back now.**

 **DarkFoxKit: I'm not really an OC fan myself, but when I do write about an OC, I try to make them relatable and likable. It worked with Andy… well my Andy on my Danny Phantom fanfics.**

 **Aegis: Not to be confused with my Andy in Child of Mew. Sorry I couldn't come up with a different name. I just suck at names. Anyway, I think we've dawdled on this AN too long. It's starting to look like it's just promoting your story.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Technically your OC's name is Andreas. And I didn't meant to promote it. It was just to show how I usually handle OCs. ^^' But yeah, let's get started on the story now.  
**

* * *

 **As With All Things, the Beginning**

When people of the world spoke of a land of technological advancement to rival all other regions, most would point you to Unova. This land has a rich history and culture that is derived from all others of the world. The religion of Arceus is practiced at a large scale here, second only to Sinnoh, and he is worshipped as the creator of everything that was, is, and will be.

The land is filled with thriving cities that live with the luxury of technological masterpieces, and run on the pinnacle of modern science. But in spite of this, there are still a few places to be found away from the loud cities. Quiet, rural towns with a peaceful atmosphere, and night skies still filled with stars. It's here, in Nuvema town, that our story begins.

Nuvema is set at the edge of the sea, with the ocean winds constantly breezing through the gentle town. The only place to find the technology usually found throughout the region is Professor Juniper's laboratory. Like all Pokemon Researchers, she'd settled into a small, rural town at the edge of her assigned region, to conduct her studies in a peaceful and quiet atmosphere.

But that's not all that's found here. Recently, an orphanage was built in Nuvema. Being a small town, the League, which served as the prevailing government of the world, decided that Nuvema would be the best place to build it, as it would give children a nice, open atmosphere to grow up in, and a fitting place for a fresh start at life.

The orphanage never had many children, eleven being the record high so far, and most of them ended up adopted rather quickly. But one of the children, who'd been there since the orphanage was founded, had never found a new home. His name is Alexander. And this is his story.

"Alex! Hey Alex!" A girl who was at the tender age of 8 came running into a room, carrying a book. "Alex, guess what? I found this book about Pokemon from one of the shelves. I know how you talked about becoming a Pokemon Trainer one day, so maybe you would like to read this?"

At ten years old, Alex was currently the oldest in the orphanage, though that wasn't saying much, considering he was still quite young. He smiled at the little girl. So far, she hadn't been adopted either. And she was more or less the only friend he had here. He took the book gratefully. "Thanks, Sophie," he said quietly. While not necessarily shy, he didn't really like being around other people, Sophie being the exception. Well, one of them. And even then, he still kept communication with her to a minimum. The matron kept telling him that that was why no one would adopt him, that he needed to be more sociable. But he couldn't help it. He just didn't like people.

"Hey, I'll bet your favorite Pokemon is in that book!" Sophie smiled excitedly. "I saw a cute Tepig in there, and even an Eevee!"

Alex chuckled softly. "It probably won't be. I can never find very much on Mew."

Every child born was said to be born under the watchful gaze of one of the Legendary Guardians, the original Legendaries created by Arceus. And the one that supposedly presided over Alexander's birth was Mew. He'd always wanted to know more about the mysterious Pokemon, but as was the case with Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, there just wasn't much to find.

"Well I guess that makes sense… I heard that nobody's really seen Mew, so… how would they know anything about it?" Sophie said. "But I like to bet it's very cute and shy like you."

Alex twitched. "I'm not shy," he muttered.

There was a knock on the door, and a middle aged woman opened it, "Sophie, some parents are here to meet you now."

"Oh! Okay… well you keep reading, Alex, I'll go see if the parents want to adopt me," Sophie said as she went over with the caretaker.

Alex nodded and opened the book, flipping through it's pages slowly as he read. Sophie had picked a book that outlined Pokemon's individual habitats and lifestyles. A fresh change of pace, since most books he read concerned combat abilities and effectiveness. However, the book only listed Pokemon native to Unova. Nevertheless, he enjoyed himself reading it.

"Hey!" The door opened again, this time a chubby boy who was only a few months younger than Alex walked in. The chubby boy was chewing on a brownie. "What are you doing now? Reading about Pokemon again? What a nerd. Pokemon will never respect someone like you, you barely even talk to your own kind."

Alex scowled. "I'm not in the mood, Brent," he said quietly.

"You're never in the mood," Brent said. "Look at you. You're, like, ten years old and you still haven't even tried to get your Pokemon license! The caretaker just took me to Professor Juniper's lab yesterday to look at the starter Pokemon she gives out. If I get adopted, then I can have one too!"

Alex blinked. "I just… want to know what I'm doing before I start."

"And what do you plan to do if you ever become a Pokemon Trainer?" Brent asked. "You know you'd have to talk to other Trainers too, right?"

Alex stayed silent for a while. "I'll… I'll figure something out."

"Right, just like how you figured out how to get yourself adopted from this place," Brent laughed as he stuffed the rest of the brownie into his mouth.

Alex scowled. "I'll get out before you!" He responded, fed up with Brent's attitude. "All you do is insult people! What kind of parent wants a child like you!?"

"It's simple," Brent smirked. "All you have to do is act all nice with them, then the sappy parents will adopt you in a heartbeat. Maybe you should try it."

Alex just scowled at Brent before silently returning to his book.

"What kind of kid stays inside and reads books all day?" Brent rolled his eyes. "If you want to see real Pokemon living in their homes, just go outside, they're everywhere! Mark my words, Alex, you'll never be a Pokemon Trainer!"

Alex snarled. "I'll be a better one than you."

Brent just laughed in his face as he walked out of the door.

Alex just growled to himself. Brent had asserted himself as the one in charge the moment he set foot in the orphanage. And he'd personally taken it upon himself to terrorize Alex at every step. Sophie usually came to his defense, but Brent learned to pick his fights when she wasn't around.

A couple of hours passed and Alex was still reading the book in his room, waiting for Sophie to return.

Sophie came running into the room, looking all happy and excited. She was putting some of her toys into a bag before she turned to Alex. "Hey Alex! Guess what? The parents I talked to! they've decided to adopt me! And they already have a child, so I have an older brother to look out for me, can you believe that?"

Alex was shocked at this revelation, but didn't respond with the excitement that was probably expected. This meant that his only friend at the orphanage was leaving. The only one that bothered to even try understanding him. "That's… that's great," he said, trying to put on a smile for her. "Good for you."

"Yeah!" Sophie smiled before turning to him. "Um… Alex, would you… be okay without me? I mean, you… don't exactly like talking to a lot of people."

"I'll be fine," he lied. "I'll… I'll figure something out."

"... Okay! I'm sure you'll get adopted soon, and then you can finally be an awesome Pokemon Trainer!" Sophie smiled brightly to him. "And don't let Brent push you around, okay? You've gotta stand up for yourself." She put in a stuffed Oshawott into her bag. It was a birthday present Alex gave to her last year, and she's carried it around with her a lot ever since.

Alex gave her a half smile. "I'll try," he said quietly, trying to hold back tears. He didn't want her to leave. She was the only thing he had.

"Oh… here," Sophie said as she gave him a stuffed Snivy. "I got this for your birthday coming up… but since I'm leaving, I figured I should give it to you now."

Alex blinked and slowly took the Snivy from her hands. Looking down on it for a while, he lost his composure and he leapt up and hugged Sophie, tears streaming down his face. "Please don't leave! I don't want you to go away!"

Sophie almost lost her balance at the sudden hug. "W-whoa… Alex, please don't cry. I… I don't want to leave you either… but I've been waiting to get adopted for a long time…" She hugged the crying boy back. "But I'm sure you'll be fine. Just don't stop being you, okay?"

Alex just continued sobbing, holding onto his only friend tightly.

"Oh Alex… come on, take it easy… Look, if you ever get lonely, just look at Snivy and talk to her. She's a real good listener and she cares for her Trainer," Sophie said. "She'll even let you snuggle up with her at night."

Alex slowly began to calm down and nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Promise you won't ever forget me. Promise we'll see each other again."

Sophie put her hands on his shoulder, looked at him in the eye and said, "I promise. We'll both become Pokemon Trainers one day, and I'm sure we'll run into each other with our own Pokemon partners. Maybe we could battle each other too."

Alex smiled genuinely. "I'd like that," he said softly.

"Alright, it's a promise." Sophie smiled to him.

* * *

Days turned into months, and months turned into years. Alex still avoided people, and as the children kept coming in and out of the orphanage, it seemed that he'd never be adopted. But he'd accepted that a long time ago.

He was seventeen now. Today, he'd be turning eighteen. And once he did, the League would recognize him as independant and he'd be allowed to leave the orphanage. He'd finally be able to start his journey and become a trainer.

He was in his room, reading a book that detailed the research of Professor Sycamore in Kalos while he was waiting, when the matron called him with the good news.

"Alex, guess what?" The middle aged lady said, though she's becoming old from the looks of her wrinkled skin, either that or she had poor skincare. "You're now old enough to leave the orphanage and live out on your own. Too bad you never got to be raised by a real family, but that's how life is when you avoid people."

Alex sighed. "I can't help that and you know it. You're beating a dead Ponyta at this point."

"Oh well, it's not my problem anymore. Just pack what you need and get out, I can't afford too many mouths to feed," The woman said before leaving him alone.

Alex sighed in exasperation and began packing. In truth, he'd been looking forward to this day. He was finally away from this place, finally able to go out on his own. After working at Professor Juniper's lab for much of his young life to make some extra money, he'd developed an insatiable curiosity for the outside world, and now he could finally satisfy it. And maybe even find Sophie.

Moments later, with a single large backpack full of necessities and a few personal belongings, he was outside of Juniper's lab, frozen in anticipation. And after working himself up a bit more, he stepped inside.

All around him were whirring machines and beeping computers, some running calculations for the Professor's research while the rest did Arceus knows what. It was a sight he was used to after years of working here. And at the end of the large room, standing at a table with three Pokeballs, was Professor Juniper herself.

Professor Juniper appeared to be a nice, somewhat young woman. She was a lot more peppy than the caretaker back at the orphanage, and a lot nicer.

"Hey Alex! Is it already your eighteenth birthday?" She asked, giving him a smile.

Alex smiled back. Aside from Sophie, Professor Juniper was the only other person he got along well with, and her kind demeanor played no small part in that. "Come on. I know you didn't forget. Otherwise you wouldn't have those out," he said, pointing to the Pokeballs.

"Of course not," Juniper chuckled. "I know how much you've been looking forward to this day. I had these three bred and prepared for you a few days ago. Each one will make a great partner for you. All you have to do is choose the one you want to start your journey with and you're off!"

Alex smiled and walked forward. He already knew who he'd pick. Afterall, it's counterpart, the final gift Sophie had given him, was in his backpack. He reached out and grabbed the Pokeball with the Leaf on it, the symbol of the Grass type, and tossed it into the air. The red and white sphere popped open and a bright light shot out, releasing a slim, green and creme colored Pokemon.

"Snivy Sni," The Pokemon said in a feminine voice.

Juniper gave another chuckle before she said, "Now how did I know that was the one you'd pick? Do you want to give her a nickname?"

Alex smiled and kneeled down, looked at the Snivy closely. "How about… Lamia?"

The Snivy tilted her head a bit before smiling to him. "Sniv!" She put her hands on her waist.

Alex chuckled. "You're a peppy one, aren't you?"

"Snivy… vi?" Lamia looked at him curiously.

"She's still young, and she's curious about who you are," Juniper explained, smiling at the interaction.

Alex smiled and gently grabbed Lamia, placing her on his shoulder. "Well, we'll get plenty of time to know each other." He turned to Juniper. "Thank you Professor. For everything."

"Of course! You've been such a big help around the lab, so it's only right that I return the favor somehow," Professor Juniper said, before she handed him some Pokeballs and a Pokedex. "Here, be sure to use these on your journey. Unfortunately I can only supply beginning Trainers with five Pokeballs, you'll have to buy more from a Poke Mart later."

Alex nodded. "From what I understand, I'll make plenty of money battling other Trainers. But I should probably get to strengthening Lamia before we do that."

"Yes, that's how Trainers make money, by battling each other and winning," Juniper said. "It may seem barbaric in some regions, but the Pokemon don't seem to mind, and it's always been more about the fun of competition rather than actual malice. I wish you luck on your journey out there, Alex, and be careful."

Alex smiled. "I will."


	2. Chapter 2

**The First New Friend**

Before leaving the town, Alexander made his way to the Chapel of Arceus, a building where the faithful gathered on certain occasions for prayer and worship. Trainers traditionally stopped by a town's chapel after entering and before leaving to pray for his and their patron Legendary's guidance and blessing. And that's precisely what Alex was here to do.

He walked to the end of the room, where there lay an altar with the Ring of Creation depicted on it. He gazed at it for a moment before kneeling down and starting his silent prayer. Lamia, who sat silently on his shoulder, somehow inferred what he was doing and closed her own eyes, joining him.

He knelt there for about five minutes before getting up and walking back to the entrance of the chapel. But before leaving, someone stopped him.

A young lady with short brown hair stood in front of him, she raised an eyebrow to him before she said, "Oh hello, I wasn't expecting anyone to come in here today."

Alex blinked. "I… just got my Trainer's license, and… I thought I'd stop by the chapel." Clearly, he still wasn't too good with people.

"Oh, I see. So you're a new Trainer then," The girl said. "You came in here to pray? Huh… that's pretty rare nowadays, most people don't believe Arceus exists anymore."

Alex blinked again. "I… I thought people still worshiped him in Unova and Sinnoh more than anywhere."

"Where did you hear that?" The girl asked as she came inside the chapel herself, picking something up.

"I read it in a book on world cultures."

The girl was examining whatever it was she picked up before shaking her head. "Not here either…" She turned her attention back to him. "How old is that book? Because nobody's really been in here for a while, other than the preacher and a few who still follows Arceus… although, they seem more like cultists than followers to me."

Alex frowned. "Gee, thanks," he said, momentarily forgetting his introverted tendencies due to annoyance.

"Hey, just saying… I'm guessing you didn't get out much," The girl said. "So… is that Snivy your Pokemon?"

Lamia crossed her arms and just put her head up.

Alex smiled at this and scratched under her chin. "Be nice, Lamia."

"It's fine, I'm used to getting the cold shoulder. Anyways, I uh… hope you have a safe journey and all. I should go," The girl said, looking a little more dishearten.

Alex blinked, clenching and unclenching his fists at the idea in his mind before acting on it on a whim. "W-wait," he said, rushing after her. "The League always suggests that trainers travel together, so… maybe we should… leave together."

The girl looked at him and gave a small sheepish smile, "That's awfully nice of you… uh… oh, I never got your name."

"A-Alex," he said, extending his hand.

"Hello Alex, my name is Chari," She said, shaking his hand lightly. "So if you're starting your journey, then that would mean you're going to take on the Unova Gym Leaders?"

Alex nodded. "That was the plan."

"Well good luck with that," Chari smiled to him before walking ahead. "I should go now."

"W-wait, I thought… I thought we were going together?"

"Oh… well I'm not really travelling, I was just out on a stroll. I'm not a Pokemon Trainer myself," Chari explained. "I mean I want to be… I like the idea of travelling with a partner Pokemon of my own, it's just… um…"

"What?"

"Well… Pokemon just don't like me," Chari answered. "So I never bothered to get a starter at Juniper's lab… even though everyone I knew left on their journey long ago."

Alex blinked and shook his head. "Maybe I could… take you to Professor Juniper now. I used to help her out in the lab."

"Wait, what? Oh no thanks, I don't really want to cause any trouble," Chari said, smiling nervously.

"It-It's no trouble. I just… wanna help."

Chari frowned and sighed, "... Well I suppose it can't hurt to see how Professor Juniper handles Pokemon."

Alex smiled. "Come on. I'll take you to her."

The two of them made their way into Juniper's lab. Professor Juniper herself looked surprised to see Alex again after he just left.

"Oh, Alex! I wasn't expecting you back here so soon," she said. "Is everything okay?"

Chari herself was looking around the place in curiosity.

Alex nodded, smiling at the Professor. "Chari's just here to get her own starter, if you don't mind."

"Chari?" Juniper looked up to see the girl. "Oh, so you're finally going to be a Pokemon Trainer?"

"Huh? Uh… n-not particularly, I was just going to see what Pokemon you raise here," Chari said nervously.

"Are you sure?" Juniper asked. "I have three… well two great starters that are just pumped for adventure with a new Trainer."

"I-it's fine… I uh… well you know me, I can't really handle Pokemon all that well," Chari said.

"I can help," Alex said, trying to push her into going through with it. "I've read plenty of books on Pokemon care."

"And there are some things you can only learn through experience," Juniper said. "Why not go ahead and take one? Maybe it would help you with your fear, Chari."

Chari sighed before looking down at the two Pokeballs on the table. She nervously reached out for one of them. Alex could see she was practically sweating just from touching a Pokeball. The one she held had a water droplet symbol, meaning she was holding an Oshawott's Pokeball.

"Then… I guess… I'll go with this one…?" She sounded unsure.

"If you're not sure, you can take them both out and meet them first," Juniper spoke up.

"Oh yeah… uh… how do I open Pokeballs?" Chari asked. "I've never opened one myself before." Then she looked really worried about something. "O-on second thought, maybe this isn't a good idea… I don't really want one of them to burn my face off, so I'll just stick with the water one."

"Just tap the button and toss the ball into the air," Alex said. "The internal gyroscope will register that it's airborne and open the capsule, releasing the compressed energy of the Pokemon."

Chari looked at the Pokeball nervously, before pushing the button and threw the ball a bit. The Pokeball bounced on the floor before it popped open. A flash of bright light came out of the ball before forming into a shape of an otter-like creature.

The Oshawott looked up at Chari and gave a bright grin. "Osh, Osha! Wott!"

Chari gave a small timid smile, "Aww, it's so cute."

"That's an Oshawott," Juniper said. "It's a Water type Pokemon, this one in particular is male and he's quite confident for a young Pokemon. Are you sure you don't want to look at the Tepig too? He's quite timid like you are, Chari."

"N-no, no, it's fine… I think I'll just stick with my first choice," Chari said.

"Okay then, do you want to give Oshawott a nickname?" Juniper asked.

"A nickname? … Wouldn't that just confuse the Pokemon?"

"On the contrary, they like it when their Trainers give them nicknames, it helps distinguish them from their fellow species." Juniper smiled.

"Uh…" Chari looked at the Oshawott. "I… I don't know what kind of name he would like…"

"Just give him a name you think fits him," Juniper said. "There's nothing to it, go on, try it."

"Well… my friend used to have an Oshawott… I think… so maybe I'll name this little guy after him," Chari said. "Uh… what do you think of the name Dustin?"

The Oshawott gave another grin. "Sha, Osha!"

Chari flinched away for a second before giving a small smile, "I… think he likes it. So uh… what now?"

Juniper handed her five Pokeballs and a Pokedex, "Here, these should help you get started on your journey. Alex… I'm counting on you to show Chari the ropes, she's not used to being around Pokemon."

Alex nodded and smiled. "I can do that."

"Great, I wish you two the best of luck on your journey!" Juniper said cheerfully.

So now the two left the lab, going on their Pokemon journey together. Chari was looking at Dustin's Pokeball while the Oshawott followed her. Unlike Alex, she didn't put her starter on her shoulder.

"Um… Alex… isn't that uncomfortable? You have a Snivy around your neck," Chari said to Alex as they were leaving the town.

Alex shrugged. "She likes it there. I'll get used to it."

"Snivy," Was the Snivy's reply.

"I see… well uh… how do you get this Pokeball to return the Pokemon?" Chari asked.

"Point the button at the Pokemon. When the sensor recognizes the Pokemon registered to it, it'll recondense it's energy and absorb it."

"Ah, thanks, I'm sorry I sound so clueless. I actually read a lot about Pokemon, and even watched anime involving people using Pokemon and stuff," Chari said. "But I don't know much in real life. As you can tell I've been more of an indoors person."

* * *

The two were now walking in Route 1. There were a few people out there travelling too it seems. Chari, despite having this information, still hadn't called back her Oshawott, which made Alex wonder if she wanted to leave her starter outside like he did.

Alex was looking around avidly, having never been outside Nuvema Town before, and gladly took in everything he saw. "Have you ever traveled before?" He asked Chari.

"Not outside of town, no," Chari said. "Was always too scared to run into wild Pokemon. But it's kind of pretty out here, look at all the leaves blowing in the wind."

The tall grass they were in began rustling. Chari gasped and backed away behind Alex as a wild Lillipup came jumping out. It gave a playful bark to them.

Alex chuckled and knelt down, offering a hand to the little Normal Type.

"What are you _doing_?" Chari hissed. "Didn't you hear the stories? Wild Pokemon attack people!"

Alex shook his head. "Only the violent or provoked ones. Most of them are pretty friendly."

The Lillipup sniffed Alex's hand, before it began wagging its tail. "Pup pup pup!"

Alex chuckled as he reached out to pet it.

"H-hey! Even if it's not violent, you shouldn't be touching a wild Pokemon!" Chari hissed.

Alex rolled his eyes at this, ignoring Chari's irrational fear.

"Snivy?" Lamia gave a questioning tone.

"Pup?" Lillipup twitched its ears as Alex's hand hovered over it.

"Sni," Lamia waved her hand in a non-caring fashion.

"Pup!" Lillipup smiled as it jumped and knocked Alex's hand playfully.

Alex gave another chuckle. "Playful little one, aren't you?"

Chari was just nervously watching, she was about a few inches away and didn't seem to be inclined to get any closer. Dustin was looking at her with a sheepish grin.

After a minute of the Lillipup playing with Alex's hand, it took notice of Chari. Chari didn't notice until it started going towards her. She tensed up and moved away. "Alex, can we go now?"

"Relax, Chari. It just wants to play."

"Yeah, with you. I think it'll just bite me," Chari said nervously, stepping around the Lillipup and running ahead, Dustin hurrying to follow.

Alex sighed. "Sorry little guy, I gotta go," he said, as he followed after Chari.

When they got a little further in Route 1, Chari finally stopped running. She was panting and Dustin fell on his stomach, feeling tired himself from having to keep up with her.

"S-sorry… about that…" Chari apologized to both Dustin and Alex.

"You really need to learn to trust Pokemon more," Alex said, leaning on a tree and panting.

"They're just really unpredictable," Chari said as she was catching her breath. "I mean… you never know what they're thinking… and they could turn on you at any moment. It… probably didn't help I watched a lot of anime where Pokemon turned on their own Trainers… a lot. And my paranoid father didn't help either. My mother is probably the only one who encouraged me to go out into the world."

Alex sighed. "To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't turn out like you. I grew up in the orphanage. I've never known what the world is like outside Nuvema."

"Be glad you didn't, I can hardly leave the house without seeing someone with a Pokemon on them." Chari frowned. "Hey Dustin, do you mind? Your cuddling my leg a little too much."

Dustin, who was five feet away and still lying on the ground, blinked at her.

"Hmm? Wait, if you're not on my leg then what is?" Chari began to pale, looking at her leg to see a Partrat sniffing her. "AH!" She ran behind Alex. "WHAT WAS IT DOING ON MY LEG!? SIZING IT UP?!"

"Relax," Alex said, reaching out to the Patrat the same way he did the Lillipup. "It's curious. It probably hasn't seen many humans."

"Ugh… are you just going to pet every wild Pokemon you see?" Chari asked. "Don't Trainers have to battle them with their own Pokemon to get stronger?"

"I need to train Lamia first before we do that. Run a few basic Trainer's Tests to see how well she can follow commands, how accurate she is, how powerful she is, etc."

"... Uh… okay…" Chari didn't look like she really understood most of what he just said.

The Patrat ran off. It appeared to be more timid around humans than the Lillipup was.

"So when should we do this Trainer's Test you mentioned?" Chari asked. "Route 1 is pretty short, I can already see the next town."

"Probably in the Pokemon Center's training field, then. We might meet a few other trainers that can give us tips."

"Oh… wow," Chari gave a smile. "I remember seeing some Trainers in a Pokemon Center's training field before. They're amazing with how they work with their Pokemon like that. I've only seen it on TV though… I wouldn't mind seeing it real life. Come on, come on, let's go! I want to see these people!"

Alex chuckled as he followed her into the town. "Hold on, I want to stop by the chapel first. Then we can find the Pokemon Center."

"Huh? You're going to the chapel? Not to be disrespectful or anything, but why? Didn't you already pray for a safe journey?" Chari asked.

Alex nodded. "It's a typical tradition for Trainers going on a journey. You pray at each town you visit after you arrive and before you leave, so that Lord Arceus can keep track of your progress through the region."

"Oh… well that's nice, but…" Chari hesitated. "I don't think it matters if I prayed or not. So how about I just meet you at the Pokemon Center?"

Alex sighed. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you in a little while."

"Thanks," Chari said before moving to the Pokemon Center with Dustin running to catch up to her.

"Snivy, Sni, Snivy," Lamia said with a sigh.

Alex looked over and scratched her under her chin. "I wish I could understand you," he said.

"Sniii…" Lamia shrugged.

* * *

After visiting the chapel and praying at the alter, Alex left and made his way to the Pokemon center to meet back up with Chari.

Once inside, he saw Chari looking through a window. Dustin was sitting on a chair beside her, not seeming to care to move. Poor guy must be tired having to run everywhere with the girl.

"Hey, I'm back. If you follow me out to the field, I can help you run those tests."

"Hey Alex, look, they're training," Chari said.

There were a few Trainers on the field, sparing with each other. One of the Trainers, Alex noted, had a Servine, the evolved form of the very starter he had on his shoulder. The Servine had its opponent wrapped with its Vine Whip. The opposing Pokemon was a Herdier.

"I don't know Alex, there seems to be quite a lot of Trainers in there already, would they let us in?" Chari asked nervously.

Alex nodded. "I'm sure they will. Most trainers are pretty friendly. But… I'm not so good with people."

"Well alright, let's try it out," Chari said. "I should work on my relationship with my Oshawott anyways…"

The two new Trainers walked into the field. Chari looked around and frowned nervously, most of these Trainers were younger they they were and their Pokemon looked to be pretty strong.

"So now what?" Chari asked. "Are we supposed to ask someone to help us?"

"I'd rather we start on our own. It's better if people come to us."

"Alright, so what do we do?" Chari asked. "You're the one who's read all these Pokemon books after all."

Alex walked over to where a few training dummies stood and motioned for Lamia to jump down.

"The first thing we need to do is a Power Test. To see how much energy our Pokemon can pack into their moves. This is usually done with ranged attacks."

Alex hit a few buttons on a nearby keypad and the ground opened up, revealing a table with a thick block of some solid material. It looked like concrete, but it had a softer consistency, like ballistics gel.

"Alright, Lamia, I want you to use Razor Leaf and try to focus it on a single point on that block."

Lamia looked at Alex, tilting her head. "Snivy…" She frowned.

Chari opened her Pokedex and was fiddling with it. "Uh, Alex, you should look at your Pokedex. I don't think your Snivy knows how to use Razor Leaf yet. She seems to only know Tackle and Leer."

Alex frowned. "Strange. Most Snivy learn Razor Leaf before being handed out to their trainers. I guess Lamia was given to me pretty quickly after she hatched." He crossed his arms and thought for a bit. "I know how we can alter the test to make it work, though." He turned to Lamia. "Could you Tackle the block with everything you have for me?"

"Snivy!" Lamia nodded before turning to the block.

The little Snivy ran forward quickly before jumping and tackling the block with her head. After rebounding and landing back in front of Alex, she put her hands on her waist and gave a proud smile.

Alex smiled back as the block rippled a bit before it seemingly froze. The ripples didn't seem to travel to far, but that was to be expected from a young Pokemon. He moved over to the table and checked the measuring strip on it and pulled out his Pokedex, switching to the calculator function, punching in a few numbers and a basic power measuring formula.

"2.2 units of power. Slightly above average for a starter Pokemon. Nice job, Lamia."

"Snivy!" Lamia smiled.

Chari looked at Dustin and said, "... Do you want to try that?"

Dustin smiled and gave her a grin, which seemed to be a customary look for him. "Osha!"

"Alright. Alex, do you mind measuring what Dustin's power will be?" Chari asked her fellow travelling Trainer.

Alex nodded. "I can do that. I can also teach you the formula if you want. It's pretty easy. All trainers learn it at some point or another.

"Sure, show me how it works," Chari said. "Dustin, go ahead and use your hardest Tackle on that block… please?"

Dustin smiled and nodded, running at the block as fast as he could before slamming into it with his shoulder, then jumping back and landing in front of Chari with a satisfied look on his face.

Alex moved back over to the table again and ran the formula through his calculator. He whistled at the results.

"2.5. Plenty of raw power."

"Wow, that was some nice tackling there, Dustin," Chari said.

"Sniv," Lamia turned her head away from Dustin in annoyance.

Alex chuckled. "It's alright Lamia. You'll get stronger with time. The second test we need to run is an Obedience Test, but that's best done when the Pokemon has at least four offensive moves. So we'll have to skip that one for now."

"Yeah, and I might fail that one," Chari gave a timid smile. "What's next?"

Alex sighed. "You need to have more confidence in yourself. Anyway, the third test we need to run is a Speed test. Just a simple lap around the field. I'll time them and run the calculations to see where they measure on the scale."

"Hey you two…" Someone spoke up. A person who appeared to be younger than both of them approached them. He was a young boy from the looks of it. "Are you training?"

Alex opted to stay silent and let Chari do the talking.

"Yeah, we're just beginning Trainers. We've only just left town actually," Chari said. "Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to ask if either of you would be interested in sparing with me and my Pokemon," The boy said. "I just got started not long ago too."

"Oh, uh… well we…" Chari hesitated. "Neither of us had been in a battle before, so I'm not sure if we could actually battle you right now."

"Hey that's okay, I heard it's best to battle with experience than just hearing about it," The boy said. "This is a good way to learn, right?"

"Well… you have a point there… so uh… who do you want to spar with?" Chari asked.

The boy smiled. "You, I guess. Your friend there seems to be bit shy."

Alex frowned. "I'm not shy." That seemed to be his catchphrase.

"He's not so good with people he doesn't know," Chari said. "But he's really good with Pokemon, are you sure you don't want to spar with him?"

Dustin poked her leg, giving a look of determination. Chari frowned, but she knew Dustin was eager to battle from the look on his face.

"Err… I mean I'm still learning myself…" Chari said hesitantly.

The boy chuckled. "Your Oshawott looks like he really wants to give it a shot."

Chari sighed and thought maybe she should've gone with the more timid Tepig after all. "Alright, fine, we'll battle. But don't expect me to know what I'm doing, because I sure as heck don't."

The boy laughed again. "Don't worry, I was like that once," He offered his hand. "I'm Zane."

"Nice to meet you, Zane," Chari said as she shook his hand lightly. "My name is Chari. So what kind of Pokemon are you going to use?"

Zane smiled and tossed a Pokeball, letting loose a small creme and brown fox.

"Vee. Eevee!"

Chari stared at the little furry Eevee in shock, "Wh-wh-what? You got an _Eevee_? Those things are super rare! How'd you get an Eevee in Unova!?"

The boy chuckled. "My, uh… my dad's the CEO of a pretty big corporation. He has a few connections and got me Eden here as a birthday present."

Chari blinked at Zane, "Honestly I don't know what's more shocking right now. The fact that you have an Eevee or the fact that you're the son of a big CEO. Are you sure you want to battle someone like me?"

Zane chuckled. "Who my parents are doesn't matter. Out here, I'm just another trainer."

"Well… alright. I'll just be using Dustin here, my Oshawott," Chari said, before scanning the Eevee with her Pokedex.

The Pokedex showed that Eevee was the Evolution Pokemon, and that they're so rare due to their irregular genetic make-up, and can evolve into several different types of Pokemon.

"Heh, hope you don't mind me saying but I'm kind of jealous you have an Eevee," Chari chuckled lightheartedly.

Zane smiled. "Maybe you'll get one yourself one day."

The two Trainers stood on the opposite side of the battlefield. Zane's Eevee stood in front of him while Dustin stood in front of Chari.

Chari wasn't sure what to do, but decided to try and call out a move, "Uh… Dustin… could you use your Tail Whip?"

Dustin gave Eden a cute look and wagged his tail side to side, causing her to lower her defenses.

Zane smiled. "Sand-attack."

Eden yipped in confirmation and spun around kicking dust into Dustin's eyes.

"Now, Quick Attack!"

Eden dashed forward at an alarming speed before slamming hard into the Oshawott.

Chari gasped at seeing Dustin rolling on the ground after that Quick Attack.

"Dustin! Oh… uh… try a Tackle!"

Dustin got back on his feet and ran at the Eevee, jumping to hit it with his shoulder.

Eevee dodged it relatively easily.

"You need to command him with more confidence. If you don't believe in him, he won't believe in himself. Swift, Eden!"

The Eevee summoned several stars before slapping them with her tail, sending them flying toward Dustin.

Dustin was hit with every star, and he flipped over on the ground.

"Oh… oh no… what do I do?" Chari was already freaking out. "Tackle and Leer is all he knows!" She looked at Zane and Eden before looking at the injured Oshawott. "Maybe I should just give up…?"

"Swift again!"

Alex ran next to her, "Dustin, wait til the last second, then jump."

Dustin braced himself, eyeing the incoming stars.

"Now! Jump and use Tackle!"

Dustin jumped as the stars slammed into the ground where he was only a second ago, and dove down, slamming into Eden with his shoulder.

The Eevee let out a cry of pain as she slid back, struggling to stay standing.

"A-Alex, how did you do that?" Chari asked, still shaking nervously.

"It's like he said. You've just got to have confidence. You've seen all of those TV shows, right? You should know what to do!"

"... But that's just a TV show… I don't know if I could even be that confident, or if Dustin would listen to me if I tried to order him around like that…"

"He's listened to you so far, hasn't he?"

"W-well, I wasn't exactly commanding him, just giving… uh… suggestions…?"

"That's all a battle is. Learning the way your Pokemon likes to fight and suggesting what it should do based on it's style. Oshawott's are melee fighters. They like to stay up close and not give their opponents an inch of breathing room."

"O-oh… oh yeah, I remember seeing a samurai Pokemon show that featured an Oshawott…" Chari said. "Do you think… Dustin can really do all that? … I guess I'll just have to try."

Taking a deep breath, Chari said, "Dustin, I'm sorry for panicking back there… will you still battle with me?"

"Sha, wott!" Dustin said, nodding sharply.

"Okay, let's try this again," Chari said, trying to calm her nerves. "Dustin, use Tail Whip."

Again, Dustin wagged his tail at Eden.

"Growl," Zane said.

Eden did just that, growling viciously at Dustin, which made him reflexively take a step back.

"Well," Alex said. "There goes that. You lower his defense, he'll lower your attack."

"I'm aware what Growl does," Chari huffed. "Okay… minor setback. Dustin, get in close for a Tackle attack."

Dustin ran at the Eevee.

Eden jumped away to dodge like before.

"Turn!" Chari called.

The Oshawott made a quick turn and jumped at the Eevee while she was still in mid-air, hitting her with his head this time.

Eden cried out again, this time hitting the ground and not getting up, clearly unconscious.

"That looked like a critical hit," Chari said. "Wow, you really are strong, Dustin!"

"Osha!" Dustin said, grinning and looking smug.

"Hey now, don't get too smug, there is such a thing as being cocky," Chari chuckled.

The Eevee was returned into his Pokeball.

Chari looked up at Zane and said, "That was a good battle… I honestly wasn't expecting to win."

Zane smiled. "It was. But you don't have as much faith in yourself as you should. You have a lot of potential." He turned to Alex. "What about you? You looked like you knew what you were doing. Wanna quick spar."

Alex was quiet for a bit. "Shouldn't… shouldn't we wait for Eden to recover?"

Zane grinned. "I've got someone else I can battle with."


	3. Chapter 3

**A Purloining Nuisance**

"So what's your Pokemon? A Snivy?" Zane asked Alex.

Alex nodded and looked to Lamia, who hopped down onto the battlefield. "Sni!"

"Very well then, I'll use a Grass starter of my own for your Grass starter," Zane said, taking out a Pokeball.

The Pokeball was thrown and popped open, releasing a Chikorita, a Grass type starter from the Johto region.

Alex blinked. "A Chikorita?" He shook his head. "Lemme guess. Another birthday present?"

"Nah, I just picked up this little guy while I was visiting a certain professor in New Bark Town," Zane said. "I haven't had time to train him much yet, so this will be a good experience for us both. Fragrey, start thing off with Reflect."

The Chikorita called Fragrey set up a barrier of light around himself.

Alex frowned, thinking this must have been an egg move. "Start off with Leer, and keep a close eye on him."

Snivy glared menacingly at Fragrey, causing him to shiver.

"Chika…"

"Shake it off, Fragrey! Use Growl!" Zane called.

The Chikorita let out a cute growl at the Snivy.

"Most people underestimate a Chikorita, because they're built for defending rather than attacking. But even then, they can be dangerous if used right," Zane said.

Alex sighed. Seeing as Leer was rendered useless by growl, all he had to use was Tackle. Which meant he had to get creative if he wanted to catch his opponent off guard. So he decided to wait patiently to see what Zane would do.

"Oh? Not going to make a move?" Zane asked. "Alright, then. We'll strike next. Fragrey, use Tackle!"

The Chikorita ran at the Snivy.

"Sidestep and hit his flank with your Tackle."

Lamia waited till the last second, jumping to the side before slamming into the Chikorita. Fragrey yelped at the sudden attack before turning around, glaring at Lamia.

"Chika! Chikori!" Fragrey snapped.

"Snivy? Sni!" Lamia crossed her arms and turned her head.

"Get on the Snivy," Zane said.

Fragrey jumped at Lamia and pinned her down.

"Now use Razor Leaf from point blank."

Fragrey's leaf turned sharply and slashed the Snivy's side. Lamia cried out in pain.

"Shove him off with your vines!"

Lamia quickly complied, bracing herself against the ground and using her vines to shove against Fragrey with all her might.

"Interesting, your Snivy can use its vines yet you claim she doesn't know how to use Vine Whip yet?" Zane said, sounding intrigued when he watched the display.

Alex shrugged. "Most Grass Types have vines naturally, and they use them in the wild for menial tasks such as fetching berries from trees even if they don't learn Vine Whip."

"Perhaps there is some logic to that," Zane said. "But let's continue this battle, shall we? Fragrey use Razor Leaf again."

Fragery swung his leaf, this time throwing razor sharp leaves at Lamia. Lamia managed to dodge a few of them, but one of the leaves managed to graze her tail.

Alex frowned. Zane could just keep having his Chikorita use Razor Leaf and never get back into the range of Lamia's Tackle. He got an idea and waiting for Zane's next command, anticipating exactly that. Lamia just waited patiently for her own trainer's next command.

The Reflect began to wear off, the glowing barrier faded from the Chikorita.

"Use Razor Leaf again!" Zane called.

Fragery did as commanded, throwing more sharp leaves at Lamia.

"Use your vines to jump over them and dive into him with Tackle!"

As the leaves grew closer, Lamia used her vines to vault herself over the attack and dove directly toward Fragrey.

"Watch out, Fragrey!" Zane called.

Lamia landed on top of Fragrey, awaiting her Trainer's next orders.

"Tackle again before he escapes!"

Lamia quickly stepped back before propelling herself forward again, attempting to slam into Fragrey once more.

Fragrey let out a cry when Lamia tackled him.

"Get her off you!" Zane called.

The Chikorita got onto his feet and ran around, trying to get the Snivy off him. Lamia clinged onto his back with her vines.

"Hold him in place and Tackle again!"

Lamia jumped off Fragrey and stood her ground while pulling against the running Chikorita. She pulled while Fragrey pulled. Using all her strength, Lamia managed to lift Fragrey off the ground before jumping at him and slammed into his stomach. It was a critical hit. Fragrey fell to the ground, his eyes spiraling.

"Looks like you win," Zane said.

Alex sighed in relief as Lamia gleefully ran back to him and climbed up onto his shoulder. "I was afraid I wouldn't. Leer and Tackle alone isn't much to work with. I was hoping to train a bit more before getting into a battle."

"Seems to me that you two managed to beat me despite the odds," Zane said, looking at Chari too. "I think you both have the potential to become great Trainers one day. I look forward the next time we meet."

Alex nodded. "Are you participating in the League as well?"

"You could say that. I'm just looking for a good challenge and potential in Trainers," Zane said as he returned the unconscious Chikorita back into his Pokeball.

"Um…" Chari hesitated. "You think we both have potential?"

"Yup. You just need to work on your confidence, I'm sure you'll make a great Trainer when you can do that," Zane said to her. "Now I suggest you two continue your training. I have to go see Nurse Joy."

Alex smiled and looked toward Chari. "Told you. Confidence."

"Oh, like you're one to talk, Mr. Introvert," Chari grumbled. "But maybe we should… try to teach our Pokemon their elemental moves. I'd rather not have to get into another Trainer battle with Dustin only knowing Tackle and Tail Whip again."

Alex nodded and whipped out his Pokedex. "Teaching Lamia Vine Whip should be pretty simple. I just need to help her learn how to use her vines offensively. But Water Gun might be tricky for Dustin to learn."

"Do you have any tips on how a Water type Pokemon could use Water Gun?" Chari asked.

Lamia was giving a proud look while Dustin just gave her a deadpanned one.

Alex thought for a bit. "A Water Type Pokemon's ability to discharge water from their mouths isn't all that different from spitting. Some scientists even believe that it isn't even water that they use, but some kind of saliva. Maybe just have him spit at targets until he figures it out. That's really all I can think of."

"..." Chari stared at Alex before looking at Dustin. "... Spit… Water Gun is a Water type's spit… great."

Alex chuckled. "Don't sound too disgusted. Spit is just the body's natural antibiotic."

"It's still gross!" Chari grumbled. "Alright, fine. Dustin… how do you feel like spitting down a target?"

Dustin cocked his head curiously at Chari before shrugging and nodding.

"Alright Alex, let's set up some targets for them to practice on," Chari said.

With two blocks set for the Pokemon to use as target practice, the two Trainers got to work right away. Alex had Lamia hitting the block with her vines from different angles, instructing her to try and use the power she had within to enhance the strength of her vines. True to what he'd said earlier, it took no time at all for Lamia's vines to begin glowing green before cutting the soft target in two.

Alex grinned at this. "Nice one, Lamia!"

"Snivy~" Lamia smiled proudly.

"Try it again, Dustin," Chari said.

The Oshawott spat out a small squirt of water from his mouth at the block, barely soaking it.

"Maybe you need more battle experience?" Chari frowned while Dustin was rubbing his head with his stubby arm. "... I'm sure you can do this, maybe try to put more force into it?"

Alex frowned. "Try and build it up in your mouth before discharging it. Wait until it feels like you can't hold any more."

Dustin took a deep breath before spitting out a big puddle of water. It was sort of like Water Gun, but it came out on the ground rather than shooting a jet of water at the block.

"Wait, that's it, Alex!" Chari smiled. "Okay Dustin, do it like that, but put force into it, like if you were spitting at the target. Think you can do that?"

The Oshawott nodded his head before trying it again. He took a deep breath, feeling water building up in his mouth, before spitting out with as much force as he could. The water this time was sent out like a proper jet, soaking the block.

"Ah-ha! Now that looked more like a Water Gun!" Chari smiled.

Alex smiled and scanned Dustin with his Pokedex. Sure enough, Water Gun had been added to his moveset. "Nice! I think that's enough training for today. We should find someplace to rest before it gets dark out."

"Couldn't we just sleep in the Pokemon Center? It is a place for Trainers to rest after all," Chari pointed out.

Alex frowned and chuckled. "I forgot all about that. And here I thought we'd have to look for an inn." He nodded. "Let's go get a couple of rooms and get some rest. We should wake up early tomorrow morning so we have plenty of daylight to spend on the road."

"Alright with me, but I gotta warn ya; I'm not a morning person," Chari said.

* * *

The next morning, the sun began to rise. People were already out and about in the town. In fact it was pretty noisy outside… so noisy that it woke up a certain sleeping Trainer in the Pokemon Center.

"Did you hear what they said?" Someone spoke.

"Yeah, they said that our Pokemon are miserable as long as we keep them in a Pokeball…"

"Should I release my Pokemon?"

"No way, I'm not going to. It took me a while to catch it."

Chari grumbled as she put a pillow over her face before sitting up from her bed. "Why is it so noisy this morning?"

Alex, had woken up recently, and had been keeping an ear out for exactly what had happened. "Apparently someone came into town and gave a speech about how Pokemon are miserable and we should release them all." He turned to Lamia and scratched her under the chin. "You're not miserable, are you girl?"

"Sniiii," Lamia yawned, but gave a smile at Alex's touch.

Chari looked at the Oshawott she kept out with her all night. Dustin was sleeping on the blanket beside her. "Miserable? They make it sound like we abuse them or something… uh… we don't, do we?"

Alex shook his head. "Far from it. Unless they go out of our way to make them feel bad, most trainers spoil their Pokemon completely."

"I mean I guess there are some people out there who treat their Pokemon badly, but I've seen most trainers getting along with them," Chari shrugged. "It's probably nothing and just one of those people trying to 'liberate Pokemon' or something. But now that I'm up, we might as well get ready to set out soon."

Alex nodded and grabbed his bag and gently lifted Lamia onto his shoulder. "We should head for Striaton City first. That's the closest city with a Gym."

"Alright…" Chari said, grabbing her own bag and gently waking Dustin up from the bed. "Do you think we should try to catch a wild Pokemon at some point?"

Alex nodded. "If we're going to take on the Striaton City Gym, we need to have at least two Pokemon on our team."

"... Alright… but uh… I'm not sure if a wild Pokemon would want to listen to me if I just take it away from its home," Chari said nervously. "Dustin is one thing since he was given to me by a professor, but a wild Pokemon is a whole other story."

Alex smiled. "Most Pokemon are actually pretty happy with trainers. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because they can get stronger with trainers than they can in the wild."

"I guess we'll see once we eventually catch one then," Chari said, before hesitantly petting Dustin's head fur. "Do you mind if I picked you up?"

Dustin just gave a smile.

Chari picked up the little Oshawott and sighed in relief. "You're a lot lighter than I expected." She then put him into her bag, letting his head stick out. "Alright, we're ready to go!"

Soon enough, they were on their way. Nurse Joy had told them that it would be a whole day's walk to reach Striaton, and that was if they didn't stop to eat or rest.

By the time it was late afternoon, the two had to stop and rest for a bit. "There sure are a lot of Lillipup and Patrat out here… are there any other kind of wild Pokemon living out here?"

"There should be," Alex replied. "Lillipups and Patrats are just found in abundance in these areas. They prefer to live a ways away from all the metropolitan areas in the region."

"The Lillipups are kinda cute… maybe I'll catch one the next time we run into it. I mean dog Pokemon are supposed to be loyal, right? So maybe they'll be easier to train with than a Patrat for my first wild Pokemon," Chari said.

Alex smiled. "Maybe. You just need to learn not to be so scared of Pokemon. Most of them are relatively harmless."

"I'm not scared of Pokemon," Chari said. "I just don't want to get on their bad side."

"Well, acting scared around them isn't going to help. If you don't trust them, they'll have trouble trusting you."

Chari dug out a granola bar from her bag, glad that Dustin didn't eat it. "Well I can't just turn off how I feel around them on a whim. I'm sure you can understand that feeling when you're around people you're not familiar with."

"Purrrr~"

"What was that?" Chari asked. "Was that your stomach?"

Alex frowned. "I had a protein bar not even an hour ago. You?"

"I'm just about to eat, but I don't think that was me," Chari said.

Something dark and purple came out of the tall grass and slowly approached them. It was a cat-like Pokemon, and it stood on its hind legs, giving them a cute look.

"Purrrr?"

Alex blinked. "A Purrloin? Here?" He took out his Pokedex and scanned the cat.

" **Purrloin, the Devious Pokemon. Purrloin may appear to be cute and innocent, but this is just a ruse. They are mischievous Pokemon that uses their looks to trick people. When victims let their guard down, they find their items stolen."**

Alex nodded. "Duly noted," he said, putting he Pokedex away and kneeling down to the Dark Type's level. "So, what is it that you're here for?"

Purrloin looked at Chari with a smile.

"Why's it looking at me, Alex?"

"Probably because you have something it wants."

"All I have is this granola bar," Chari said. "And I intend to eat it."

The Purrloin jumped at her and pushed the granola bar out of her hands before grabbing it with its mouth and running off.

"H-hey! That Purrloin just stole my food!"

"Osha! Wott!" Dustin jumped out of her bag and went after the Purrloin.

"Dustin! Wait!" Chari yelled, running after the Oshawott.

Alex chuckled to himself as he ran after her, Lamia holding onto him tightly.

They chased the sneaky Purrloin throughout the route, running past Pokemon Trainers without giving them so much as a glance. Dustin finally had enough of the Devious Pokemon and shot out Water Gun at its back. The Purrloin let out a small screech when it was shot by the Water Gun, dropping the granola bar, before turning at the Oshawott, hissing.

Chari caught up with Dustin and saw the Purrloin hissing at him. Dustin himself looked ready to battle it. "H-hey, uh… is this necessary?"

Purrloin ran at Dustin with her claws out, intending to Scratch him.

"Get out of the way!" Chari yelped.

The Oshawott jumped away from the Scratch attack.

"Oh boy… Dustin, use Tackle!"

Dustin hit the Purrloin with his shoulder. The Purrloin got down on all fours before kicking up sand in his face.

"Wash it off with Water Gun!"

Jets of water came out of his mouth that flew past the sand and hitting the Purrloin right in the face.

Alex finally caught up and took stock of the situation. "Throw a ball at it now, while it's distracted!"

"What? But I wasn't planning to-"

"Just do it!"

Being caught up in the moment and on Alex's prompting, Chari took out an empty Pokeball and threw it at the Purrloin. When the Pokeball hit the Purrloin it opened up and the Purrloin turned into red energy as it was forced inside.

The button blinked red for a while before a soft click signaled the Pokeball's lock engaging. The capture was successful.

"... Uh… wait, did I actually catch it?" The girl was staring at her still Pokeball in shock.

Alex smiled and nodded. "Yep. Say hello to your new team member, I guess."

"Hey! I said I wanted to catch a Lillipup, not a devious little Purrloin!" Chari huffed, but she picked up the Pokeball. "Whatever, let's just keep going."

Alex chuckled. "It may be devious, but you'll learn to love it. Purrloins can be pretty loyal, and they're great allies to have."

"I don't trust Dark types!" Chari huffed before looking at Dustin. "Hey, thanks for getting that little thief back for me."

Dustin gave her a smug grin. "Wott!"

Alex sighed. "You're going to be prejudiced because of it's typing? That's surprisingly low for you."

"Then I'll crawl under a rock or something," Chari said. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been prejudiced to all Pokemon so far."

"You've been afraid of them. Prejudice is another thing entirely. Prejudice makes monsters of men."

"I'll figure something out then," Chari grumbled before walking ahead, obviously not wanting to hear more lectures from Alex.

The two now walked in silence as the sun began to set. Chari must still be in a pretty bad mood, because she wasn't talking to Alex.

Alex, for the most part, left her alone. It was best that she come to terms with her own feelings, rather than him shoving it in her face. He contented himself holding Lamia in his arms and gently scratching her.

Chari stopped and gave a sigh, "... It'll be getting dark soon… maybe we should find a place to stay for the night."

Alex looked over to her and nodded. He took out his Pokedex and pulled up a map of the surrounding area. "There should be a cave system nearby. The Pokemon there are all noted to be harmless, even friendly. That'll be our best option."

They continued to walk, this time in the direction of the cave system Alex mentioned. Chari was looking at the Pokeball she used to catch the Purrloin earlier. She was contemplating on something.

"... Maybe I should release her… I don't think I can handle a Purrloin yet…" she said.

"How will you know if you aren't even willing to try it? Zane said you have potential as a trainer. Prove him right."

"But I'd rather take it one step at a time… I mean I've never thought I would have to train a wild Pokemon… and I didn't think my first one would be a Dark type…" Chari sighed. "Okay look, before you tell me I'm being prejudice again, let me explain… I have nothing against all Dark types, in fact I admire some of them, like Umbreon. It's just a lot of them… well, did you know in another region they were called Evil types? Ghost types and them tend to be the most… dangerous towards people out of most other types. I mean Ghost types eat your SOUL for crying out loud. At least most other Pokemon just maul you to death."

Alex sighed and nodded. "Most people just misunderstand them is all. Most Dark types are just about as harmful as Purrloin, although they certainly have the capability to be a lot worse. They just don't want to. And Ghost types largely just want to be left alone. That's why there aren't a lot of Ghost type trainers. And the few that are are usually Psychics or mediums that can communicate with them on an emotional level. Most Pokemon are only dangerous if you antagonize them. If you're friendly with them, you really don't have anything to worry about."

"... Meh," Chari grumbled. "Anything can be dangerous if you antagonize them."

Chari still didn't seem all that willing to let the Purrloin out of its Pokeball, but at least she stopped contemplating on if she should release it entirely.

The rest of the trip continued in silence as they made their way to the cave system, unaware of the eyes that followed them in the shadows.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Foreboding Discovery**

It took another half hour of trekking through the woods before they finally reached the cave system. A few Pokemon were still out and about, but it seemed most of them were headed for wherever they called home to turn in for the night.

"Most of the caves here are unexplored," Alex said. "But they've been mapped using echolocation technology. I'd suggest we go as deep in as we can. Who knows? We may actually end up finding something useful, like an evolution stone."

"A creepy cave where wild Pokemon could sneak up on you… I'm afraid I'll trip over a Drillbur or Roggenrola…" Chari frowned.

"Roggenrolas will stick to stone clusters, and Drillburs sleep underground. We won't have to worry about them."

"You never know. At least there aren't any Geodudes in this region. I heard a lot of people tripped over those Pokemon, and they can even explode," Chari shivered.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, they aren't all that common here. There have been Outbreaks before, but otherwise they aren't around."

The two finally decided to rest after walking all day.

"I think we're in deep enough to rest…" Chari said. "You think it's safe to sleep in here?"

Alex nodded and looked down at the map. Then he did a double take, looking at the wall to his right, and back at the map. "What?! That's not right."

"What? What's wrong?" Chari frowned.

Alex shook his head and showed her the map. "There should be a huge cavern just over there," he pointed to the wall. "But as you can see, there's nothing. These maps are never wrong. Everyone and their mother swears that they're 100% accurate."

"Well… maybe it's… outdated?" Chari nervously suggested. "Or maybe… I don't know, someone else is here and is using this cave as a hideout or something? … Okay, that was stupid."

Alex blinked and shook his head again, walking over to the wall and inspecting it. After feeling around, he knocked on it. He stepped back in surprise. "There's something on the other side."

He looked around a bit more, looked for some way past the wall. "Whatever it is, it seems like some ancient mechanism, which means…" He eventually found a crevice, reached inside, and pulled on something. Just as he pulled his hand out, the cave rumpled as part of the wall moved back and to the side, revealing an opening. Alex just grinned at this. "Amazing."

"Um… Alex, you're not planning to explore in there, are you?" Chari asked nervously.

Alex looked back at her and smiled. "What the hell is the point of traveling if you don't explore?" Then he proceeded to step into the cavern.

"This is why I don't travel much," Chari grumbled, following the boy into the cavern.

Lamia looked to be on alert. "Snivy! Sni, Sni, Vi!"

Alex looked over. "If we spot anything bad, we'll run, alright? I know we're not strong enough to tackle anything dangerous yet."

Chari didn't respond to that, instead she just kept following him. "... So… how long does this supposed secret tunnel go?"

"There should be a large opening up ahead. That's the dead end."

Soon enough, after another minute of walking, they came across a large cavern. And what they found there was startling to say the least.

There was a mural. A huge one. At the center of it looked to be Arceus, but… he looked different. Malicious. He radiated an evil aura. And all around him were the Legendaries. And they too were different. But it was the Mew that caught his attention.

As he walked over to it, he could make out the image much better. It radiated a dark aura much like Arceus. It's fur, instead of the customary pink, was pitch black, and it's eyes were blood red. It was crouched over, its fur standing on end, and it's eyes locked in a perpetual glare. It was nothing like the few images of the carefree pink feline he'd seen before.

"What… What is all this?"

"... This is really creepy. Who'd draw such evil, twisted versions of the Pokemon of Legends?" Chari frowned.

Both Lamia and Dustin were shivering from the sight themselves.

"I have no idea. But… this mural is thousands of years old at _least_. Probably dates back to when all of the regions were joined into one continent."

"But were the Pokemon of Legends really so… evil like that? I can't imagine any of them like this…" Chari said. "What would happen if these Pokemon exist and are still around today?"

"I have no idea," Alex said.

"... Well… uh… what do we do now?" Chari asked. "Keep going?"

"I guess. There might be something beyond the cavern that the echolocation couldn't reach. One of the tunnels on the map from here just cuts off with no explanation. There might be something beyond there."

They were about to go in deeper, when screeches began to echo through the cavern's walls.

"What's that?" Chari asked.

The screeches got louder and louder, soon the two Trainers had to shut their ears. Woobats, many, many Woobats were flying towards them.

"Chari! Don't move! Stay where you are!" Alex attempted to move to where he last saw her, not wanting to get separated. But Alex didn't see Chari anywhere. The Woobats all flew around him as they emitted their Supersonics.

"SNI!" Lamia jumped from his shoulder and was Tackling more incoming Woobats.

"Lamia, no! We can't get separated!"

But Alex couldn't get to his Snivy, as more Woobats pushed him back. The further back Alex was, the darker the caverns became. Before long, the last Woobat flew past him, leaving the boy all alone.

"Dammit," he muttered, taking out his Pokedex and seeing if he could lock onto Chari's. "Find Chari first, and Lamia should be close." He sighed. "I'm screw if a wild Pokemon gets agitated with me."

He waited for a minute, then two, but the Pokedex couldn't find a signal. Sighing yet again, Alex put it away and walked back in the direction the Woobats came from, hoping that it would lead him to where Chari was. But he was no longer alone.

"Excuse me, young man… are you lost?" A young woman asked him. She had long brown hair, and wore what appeared to be a blue jacket, but it was hard to tell in the dark.

Alex blinked and looked back at the woman, gazing at her suspiciously. "I'd like to say no, but the map I came here with doesn't detail this particular tunnel. I got separated from my friend and my starter by a flock of Woobat, you see, and ended up here."

"So what you're saying is you're lost, and alone. No Pokemon with you either?" The young woman gave an intrigued tone. "I see… well it's dangerous for you to be traveling out here without any Pokemon, so just come with me and I'll lead you through here."

"No thanks," Alex said, shaking his head and crossing his arms. "I may have practically grown up under a rock, but I'm not stupid enough to travel with a total stranger in a dark cave where I just got separated from my group by a flock of Woobat that just got startled by _something._ And you are the only other living being I see around here, so I'd bet what little money I have that you had something to do with that."

"Ohoho, smart little boy. But you must be mistaken… I didn't give you a choice," The woman said with her tone laced with malice. "Volcarona, tie this boy up with String Shot!"

The woman threw a ball and it popped open, revealing a Volcarona, and as soon as it was out it immediately tied Alex's body up with a strong silky string.

Alex didn't even have time to dodge as the string wrapped around him and tied him up. He snarled. "Well, gee, glad I was right. Who do you work for? Plasma?"

"Now why would I work for a team that's obviously nothing but hypocrites and incompetent fools?" The woman smirked. "No, I work for a team that actually knows what they're doing, and our goals are a little more realistic and a lot less preachy."

Alex frowned. "And what would that be?"

"And why should I waste time telling you? You're about to find out," she smirked, returning her Volcarona, before releasing another Pokemon. This one was not of this region. "Breloom, put this kid to sleep with Spore."

The Breloom shot out white spores into Alex's face. It didn't take long for his vision to fade to black as he lost consciousness.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the cavern… Chari panted after running from all those Woobats.

"Oh… my… Arceus… I thought I was going to die back there…" She felt something tap her foot and looked down. "Oh… it's just… you, Dustin… sorry about… panicking back there… uh…" She looked around. "Uh-oh… I think I lost Alex…"

"Wott?" Dustin looked around as well, noticing that their other companions were indeed missing.

"Well… this is a dilemma… Let's go back and see if we can find him," Chari said to her only other companion.

They walked further down in the cavern, and it was getting darker. "It's getting kinda hard to see… can you see, Dustin?"

Dustin shook his head. "Osh."

"Well… uh…" Chari frowned. "Maybe we should turn back, I doubt Alex would be stupid enough to go in this far with no light source."

"Sniiiiiiiiiii!"

"What the!?"

Something green came running from the darkness and right into Chari's legs, causing her to get knocked down.

"Ow!"

"Sniv!"

"What the…? A Snivy? … Are you… Lamia?" Chari asked.

"Sni?" The Snivy looked at her before looking around in worry. "Snivy?"

"... If you're wondering where Alex is, we're wondering the same thing," Chari said.

Lamia frowned before looking at Dustin, "Snivy! Snivy, Sni, Sni!" She snapped at him.

Dustin looked offended. "Osha?! Sha, Wott!"

"Snivy!" Lamia crossed her arms. "Snivy, Sni, Sni, Snivy!"

Chari frowned, seeing how the two starters were arguing with each other. "H-hey, it's okay, we can look for Alex together, alright?"

Dustin looked up at Chari and nodded. "Sha."

"Snivy!" Lamia turned away, looking angry.

"Come on Lamia… if you don't come with us, what will you do? Try to track down Alex alone in this dark cave all by yourself? Where more Woobats or even Swoobats could come and eat you? They are mostly herbivores, but they might mistake you for a leaf they could eat," Chari said.

"..." The Snivy froze.

"Well you can do what you want, but Dustin and I will stick together until we find Alex. Come along, Dustin."

"Osha!" Dustin followed right at her heels, eager to find the other trainer.

"... SNIVY SNI!" Lamia yelled as she ran after them.

"Decided to come with us after all, huh?" Chari chuckled.

"Vy!" Lamia grumbled.

Chari, Dustin and Lamia travelled throughout the cavern, but saw no sign of Alex anywhere. They tried going into the darker parts of the cavern, but there wasn't much to see there, if anything at all.

"Osha!" Dustin called, a few meters behind the other two and pointing down at a pair of shoeprints. "Wott!"

"What…?" Chari looked at the shoeprints. "I wonder if this means Alex's been through here? … If so, then it looks like someone else was here. Look, there are bigger shoeprints here."

"Snivy…?"

"... What could've happened to him? Was he kidnapped?" Chari frowned.

"What are you doing here?" A voice asked.

Chari yelped from the sudden voice, "Who's there!?"

Out of the shadows stepped a man in a red uniform, with a blue scarf around his neck that prominently showed the symbol of the Pokemon Rangers.

"I asked you a question," he said.

"... Well excuse me for not answering with how high strung I am right now!" Chari snapped. "And anyways I came here because a friend of mine wanted to explore this place, but we got separated and now I can't find him!"

The Ranger frowned. "Did you get separated by a flock of Woobats?"

"Yes we-... how'd you know that?" Chari asked.

"I was patrolling the area when I noticed the disturbance. Never knew these particular tunnels were here before now. Do you know where you got separated from him?"

"It was somewhere in a narrow place, just past these weird pictures of dark and evil Legendary Pokemon," Chari said. "But… these shoeprints here… I think he might've ran into someone… Did you see another person before me?"

The Ranger frowned and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. You're the first person I've seen here." He crossed his arms. "Perhaps this other person might have something to do with why the Woobats were startled."

"Um… you don't think this other person was dangerous, do you? My friend only had one Pokemon, and it's this Snivy here… so he didn't have any protection with him…" Chari said in concern.

The Ranger sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you. These caves have been favored by some pretty suspicious people lately. Chances are, he ran into one of them."

"Then we have to find him! Can't we follow these tracks or something? Don't you have like a Pokemon that can sense where people go or something?" Chari begged.

The Ranger shook his head. "I'm not permitted to travel with a partner yet, and there aren't any Pokemon like that nearby. If we're gonna find your friend, we're on our own."

Chari and Lamia both gave a deadpanned stare.

"You can't travel with a Pokemon partner yet? What kind of Pokemon Ranger are you?"

"Sni!" Lamia sounded like she agreed.

"Then I'll have to find Alex myself," Chari said, looking down at the shoeprints.

"Are you kidding?! We just established that your friend was taken by a dangerous person, and you want to go after them alone?!"

"Well what am I supposed to do? It's my fault that he got kidnapped, I left him alone!" Chari cried.

"Let's get to Striaton. I can contact the Ranger Union from there, tell them what's happened. They can help us find who took your friend."

Chari frowned but didn't argue. As much as she wanted to find Alex, she wouldn't be able to help him much even if she did anyways. Not with her amatuer skills as a Trainer. For all she knew the person who took him could have very powerful Pokemon with them, she'd just get slaughtered and kidnapped herself.

"Fine… but we have to find him soon, I don't want him to die because of me," Chari said lowly.

"He won't. We'll find him." The man offered his hand. "I'm Aiden. I'm just a new recruit among the Rangers, but I was the only one to pass the field exam. That's why I'm out here with no partner."

"... Hi Aiden… I'm Chari. And this is my partner, Dustin," Chari introduced, gesturing to the Oshawott. "The Snivy's name is Lamia, she's my friend's partner."

Aiden nodded and stood. "Let's see about making our way out of these caverns." He pulled out a gadget not unlike a Pokedex and pulled up a map that looked similar to the one Alex had used. After pinpointing their location on the map, he began moving, gesturing for Chari to follow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Dragged into Darkness**

Alex came to slowly, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes to banish the blurry vision. When everything was clear, he could see that he was in an empty white room, with a solid metal door and a one way window on one of the walls. "Where... am I?" He asked himself, slowly getting up.

"You're the honored guest in one of our testing facilities." The voice was unmistakable. It was the woman from earlier.

Alex frowned as he stood and looked around. "Who the hell are you people?!"

"We are the Helix Corporation. You might think of us as a group like Team Plasma… well you're right, we are. But we're an organization who aren't a bunch of hypocrites, and our grunts have actual brains."

Alex glared at the one way window, thinking that's where the woman was. "So, what do you plan on doing with me? Why even kidnap me? I'm no one of any importance. There is absolutely nothing you have to gain from me."

"Oh, and that's where you're wrong. You see, it's because you're of no one of any importance that we kidnapped you in the first place, so it wouldn't cause a lot of ruckus when you go missing," the lady said. "And you will find out what we have planned for you soon."

Alex just continued glaring. "But why me? Out of hundreds of other people out there, why me?"

"Because you happened to run into me. That and you were in a location we could safely secure you, but don't feel lonely, you are only the first of many for our... experiment."

Alex frowned. "What experiment? Just what is it that you're planning?"

The lady didn't bother to answer him this time. Instead he heard what sounded like beeps of buttons being pressed. Something was whirring to life.

Suddenly, the ceiling opened up and several devices that looked like Tesla coils descended, all thrumming with energy. And pointing at him.

"What are you-"

He didn't get to finish as the room was filled with an indescribable energy, and his body was wracked with an onslaught of pain that he'd never thought was possible. Through his guttural screams of agony, he could barely register the feeling of the energy seeping into his body, his muscles contorting, bones changing shape as he began to shift into something else. Just before he blacked out, he caught a glimpse of the mirror, only to find a pair of blood red eyes staring back at him.

* * *

Alex groaned, his body aching immensely. He struggled to recall why he was in such pain and only got flashes. Tesla coils. Some kind of energy filling the room. And a pair of red eyes. Another groan as he tried to sit up, but his body wasn't responding to him like it should have. Just as he was attempting to figure out what exactly what was going on, a voice interrupted him.

"Oh, you're finally awake, my Lord." The voice sounded feminine, but more in respect and gentle than the lady that's been antagonizing him before. "Take it easy, your body may still be… adjusting."

" _ **What? What are you-"**_ He stopped. His voice. It didn't sound the same. He tried to sit up again, but pain suddenly shot through his body, causing him to cry out in pain as he gritted his teeth.

"Whoa, take it easy there. Just don't move for a bit, your cells are still acting up from the sudden… awakening, my Lord," The voice said. "You may need to wait before you can fully recover. Once you do, we can help you… remember how to use your abilities."

Alex was even more confused. What was wrong with them? Were these the same people that kidnapped him? Because now they were acting like they cared about him. And even more confusing was what they were calling him. 'Lord Mew.' But why?

Slowly, he managed to open his eyes. His vision quickly adjusted and he saw the woman, some kind of scientist it seemed, kneeling in front of him. But he still couldn't move.

The scientist woman was writing something down on her clipboard, and behind her was a Klink. The Klink must be her Pokemon partner.

"I wonder if Oran Berries will work?" The scientist said, before taking out a blue berry from her pocket. "Here, my Lord, go ahead and eat it."

Alex closed his eyes in refusal. Oran berries were known to be bitter. Pokemon could eat them just fine, but humans could only stand the taste if they were cooked along with something else.

"Come on, don't be stubborn. It's good for you. Do you want to be able to move again?" The scientist lightly scolded him, almost like a parent would. "I suppose it might be a bit hard to chew… Klink, mash this up with Gear Grind."

The scientist put the berry into a small container before throwing it at the Klink.

" _ **Berry mashing will commence,"**_ Alex heard the Klink say.

Alex blinked, wondering if he'd just been hearing things. There was no possible way he could understand that. He wasn't a Pokemon. But...

 _Ugh,_ he thought to himself. _What the hell is happening? None of this makes any sense._

After the Oran Berry was mashed into nothing but berry juice, the scientist put something on the container. "There we go, this should be easy for you to sip up now." It almost looked like a bottle.

Seeing no other options, Alex took a sip of the juice, expecting to be hit by a vile bitterness. But to his surprise, the taste was actually manageable. It wasn't really at all. And he could feel the pain in his body fading as he sipped on the juice even more. But… the healing properties of Oran Berries only worked on Pokemon… didn't they?

After he finished the juice, the scientist put the bottle down and said, "So how is it? Can you move now?"

Alex blinked, attempting to sit up. This time, his body responded, and the resulting ache was only minor. He took this opportunity to get a good look at himself. And it took all his composure not to freak out at what he saw. His head whipped over to the one way window. And the image that was reflected back… it wasn't his body. It couldn't be.

In place of what should have been a human… there was a Mew. But not a normal one. His eyes were a deep red, and his fur was black as the night sky. Just like the mural in the cave.

"Good, looks like berries have the same healing properties on you as it does with other Pokemon," the scientist said. "Just rest for a while, Lord Mew, we shall begin helping you recover your abilities when you're more rested."

Alex just continued staring at the mirror, not believing his eyes. He was… a Mew. Or some dark, twisted version of one. How? How was this possible?!

He shook his head, trying to keep his composure. These people… for some reason, they were treating him differently now. Helping him. But why? Did they… did they think his mind had changed with his body? And what was with the whole 'Lord' thing? He'd gone from human to Pokemon, from prisoner to 'Lord', in what couldn't have been more than a day. And he had no idea how, or why, or who to blame. For now, it seemed the only thing he could do was play along. At least until he could figure things out.

The scientist left him alone with his thoughts. The initial shock of being a dark Mew was slowly beginning to wear thin, and Alex began wondering about Lamia and Chari.

" _ **Is this that boy they transformed?"**_

" _ **Shh! We're not supposed to be here. Don't make too much noise."**_

" _ **Sorry."**_

" _ **I can't believe you talked me into doing this."**_

Alex blinked and looked around, trying to locate the voices. After a short while, he determined that they were coming from the door.

" _ **Alright, we're just here to look, then we leave, got it?"**_

" _ **Sure, sure, whatever. Now open the door, I want to see if it's true!"**_

The door glowed with some kind of blue energy, before it opened up, revealing a Purrloin and, strangely enough, an Espeon.

" _ **Oh! We're sorry, we didn't know you woke up!"**_ The Espeon said nervously when she saw him.

Alex blinked, not sure how to react to this. " _ **It's… fine. I've been awake for a while now."**_

" _ **Oooh!"**_ The Purrloin jumped up to him, poking his fur and fiddling with his long tail. " _ **Wow, this is so cool. I've never thought I'd get to see a real life Mew up close before!"**_

" _ **He's not really a Mew, Purrloin, he's more of a different kind of Mew. And stop touching him, you might anger him!"**_ Espeon scolded the Purrloin.

Instinctually, Alex yanked his tail away from the Dark type cat, somehow unsettled by her touching it. He just gazed back and forth between the two of them. " _ **Where did you two come from?"**_

" _ **From eggs, duh!"**_ Purrloin laughed.

Espeon rolled her eyes before she said, " _ **Our Trainers are on break right now, so we've just been exploring the place. We heard about a dark Mew asleep here, so we got curious… or well, my friend here did, and she talked me into taking her here just to see you. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them. You must be so confused."**_

" _ **Confused is an understatement,"**_ Alex said. " _ **But… I don't really think there's anything you can do."**_

" _ **Hah, I told ya the Mew knew everything!"**_ Purrloin stuck her tongue out at the Espeon.

" _ **If you want to keep your tongue, I suggest you keep in your mouth!"**_ Espeon growled.

Alex blinked at the two of them, noting their odd… relationship. " _ **Where… where am I, exactly?"**_

" _ **Hmm? Oh, well this is the building of Helix Corporation. Pretty neat, huh? It's somewhere in a human city, but I don't know what they call it,"**_ Espeon said.

" _ **Human cities all look the same to me anyways. Big buildings, lots of cars and junk, but at least they have tasty food,"**_ Purrloin added.

" _ **Towns on the edge of the region are better,"**_ Alex said offhandedly.

" _ **Maybe, but I've never left this city, not since I was captured anyways,"**_ Purrloin shrugged.

Espeon gave a small chuckle, " _ **Captured? You were hatched here."**_

" _ **Details, details,"**_ Purrloin flickered her paw at the Psychic Eeveelution.

Alex shook his head, somehow finding amusement in the midst of his confusion and despair. " _ **So you were both hatched here?"**_

" _ **Nah, Espeon here wasn't,"**_ Purrloin said nonchalantly.

Espeon rolled her eyes. " _ **I was captured as an Eevee in another region, but that was a long time ago. My Trainer was a lot younger and more passionate back then."**_

Alex had so much more he wanted to say and ask, but he couldn't risk compromising himself. " _ **So… what brought your trainer to Helix? I thought they only did genetics research?"**_

" _ **Well…"**_ Espeon hesitated. " _ **You see… there was an accident… and my Trainer… to make a long story short, he lost almost everything he had. So in desperation he joined with Helix so he could make a living. Sure Trainers could actually win money from each other, but he needed money fast for… reasons… and, well, he lost a lot of confidence to battle at the time so… yeah."**_

" _ **Espeon never goes into details of what exactly happened, so don't ask,"**_ Purrloin said.

" _ **Oh shush Purrloin! It's just not easy to talk about because I don't remember a lot of it to be honest. … Uh hey, while we're here, do you think you could maybe, uh… show us your Psychic powers?"**_ Espeon asked curiously.

" _ **And you said only I was the curious one."**_ Purrloin smirked.

Alex blinked. " _ **I'm… not sure I can."**_ He sighed, shaking his head at his situation. " _ **This is all really confusing and complicated."**_

" _ **What's that supposed to mean?"**_ Purrloin asked.

" _ **Hmm… Wait, do you…?"**_ Espeon looked at Alex. " _ **Know who you were before?"**_

Alex blinked in shock and hesitated, not sure how to answer. If this Espeon found out and learned to use telepathy, it could tell Helix that their machine hadn't worked, and they'd just do it to him again, or even kill him!

Unfortunately for Alex, the Espeon was intelligent enough to know what his hesitance meant.

" _ **Judging from your expression, I'm going to say yes,"**_ Espeon said. " _ **Well, this is… an interesting predicament."**_

Alex blinked again, fear returning to his eyes. If she ran off, there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop her. This was it. He was screwed.

" _ **Oh relax, your fear is building so much tension, I'm suffocating,"**_ Espeon said. " _ **Look, I'm not going to Rattata you out or anything. Just… well… maybe you could help me with something."**_

" _ **Oh here we go again,"**_ Purrloin grumbled.

" _ **Lay off, Purrloin! This could be our best chance!"**_ Espeon hissed.

Alex sighed, immensely relieved. " _ **Anything, if it means you won't tell anyone."**_

" _ **Well, tell me something first… what's your name? And do you want to leave here?"**_ Espeon asked.

Another blink. " _ **Alexander. But… you can just call me Alex. And yes, I want to leave, but… not before I know what the hell Helix is doing, and… how they did this to me."**_

" _ **Perfect, just the answer I wanted to hear."**_ Espeon smirked.

" _ **Oh you got her started…"**_ Purrloin sighed.

" _ **Purrloin and I can help give you the information you want about Helix, while you find a way for us to leave this place. My Trainer doesn't belong here, he never should've signed that awful contract,"**_ Espeon said. " _ **We'll help you if you help us, get it?"**_

Alex nodded. " _ **Yeah… that makes sense. Alright, I'll help. It… kinda helps that they'll be teaching me to use my powers."**_

" _ **I can also help you with that, being a fellow Psychic type. Humans, unless they're psychic too, don't know how to utilize that kind of power. And they assume you already know that by instinct, so I'm going to have to teach you how to properly use your Psychic abilities. Once you get all that down, it'll be easier for us to escape from here,"**_ Espeon said.

Purrloin just rolled her green eyes. " _ **You know, this isn't the first time you had a scheme of escaping from here with your beloved trainer, but this is definitely the more ridiculous one. You're using a human in a Mew's body to help this time."**_

" _ **Well unlike you, Purrloin, I'd rather not stay here for the rest of my life. My human Trainer also had so much more potential than what they're making him do here,"**_ Espeon said back.

" _ **I also have a lot of questions I need answered,"**_ Alex said, " _ **and I don't think that they are going to give me the version of the story that I want to hear."**_

" _ **Well good luck with your little escape plan. I still don't think it's going to work though,"**_ Purrloin said.

Alex sighed. " _ **I really hope it does."**_

" _ **So the scientists may be back to test your abilities soon. I'm going to give you a little taste of how a Psychic power feels. Experiencing it yourself will help give you an idea how it's used,"**_ Espeon said.

Espeon's eyes glowed blue while the red orb on her forehead flashed red. Alex felt something in his head. It wasn't painful, just tingly.

Alex shook his head. " _ **What… what are you doing?"**_

" _ **Just relax and let it flow. I'm sending some psychic signals in your head. Now see if you can get a mental grasp of the psychic signals."**_

Alex tried to get a hold of the signals, but this was all new to him. It felt strange, grasping at something that had no physical presence. But eventually, he felt his own mind wrap around the signals. " _ **Now what?"**_

" _ **Now see if you can send it back to me. It's a good way to understand the basics of how psychic energy works. Experiencing it yourself will make it easier for you to recognize your own psychic powers when it begins to form in your mind."**_

Doing as he was told, Alex attempted to send the signal back. He succeeded, but underestimated his own power and flung it back harder than he intended.

Espeon cringed away from him. " _ **Ow… headache… that was a little too rough there…"**_

" _ **Hmph. This is why I'm glad I'm a Dark type. I would hate to have to deal with psychic people going around poking my mind and junk,"**_ Purrloin commented.

" _ **That could easily be fixed with a Miracle Eye,"**_ Alex said.

Purrloin crossed her arms and said, " _ **Nobody likes a know-it-all."**_

Alex shrugged. " _ **I spent eighteen years of my life in an orphanage with nothing to do but read books. Can't help that I absorbed a lot of what I read."**_

" _ **Great, keep it in there,"**_ Was all Purrloin said.

Espeon still had her front paw on her forehead. " _ **... Sorry about Purrloin, she's… got an attitude. The… ones who raised her… had some issues."**_ She shook her head a bit. " _ **And anyways, next time please be a little more gentle. As a Legendary Pokemon, your powers are very strong. You could accidentally explode someone's brains out if you're not careful."**_

Alex winced. " _ **I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."**_

" _ **It's okay, we're learning. Now try to keep in mind that your powers are beyond that of normal Pokemon. See if you can make your own psychic signals and send them to me, gently."**_

Alex nodded and retreated back into his mind tried making his own signals. That proved to be pretty easy, since his mind seemed to be producing signals naturally. But the hard part was sending them without overwhelming the Espeon. He started by gently coaxing the signal to the forefront of his mind, trying to get a feel for how much 'force' he needed to use. Then he sent them, gently, over to the Espeon.

The Espeon twitched her ears a bit and smiled at him. " _ **That's right, you're getting it. These psychic signals are how we use Psychic attacks on Pokemon. Only, you know… with much more force in an attacking matter. Another form is using telekinesis. This is what most of us use since it less risky than using the mental version. The mental version could accidentally make someone's brains explode and, well, unless we're trying to kill someone, we shouldn't do that."**_

Alex nodded. " _ **Thank you."**_

" _ **Of course. Telekinesis is pretty easy after you grasp the basics of psychic powers. It's like holding someone or something with an invisible limb, only instead of a tangible limb you're using your mind. Let's see… imagine using the psychic signal and sending it out to a target, but instead of going into their mind you expand that signal over their body and try to use it to grasp the target."**_

Alex nodded. " _ **Alright. But… what about levitation? From what little I know of Mews, they travel using levitation."**_

" _ **I don't levitate myself,"**_ Espeon said. " _ **It takes certain psychic abilities to do that with ease naturally. However, if I wanted to, I could use telekinesis on myself to levitate for a few minutes but it would tire me out fairly quickly. For a Mew though… I'd imagine it would be as natural as breathing. So perhaps when your body is more used to the transformation, it should start levitating you naturally."**_

Alex nodded. " _ **So it's just a matter of waiting then."**_

" _ **Espeon, we should probably go now,"**_ Purrloin said while looking out the door. " _ **That big hotshot is coming this way."**_

" _ **Oh… that must be…"**_ Espeon frowned. " _ **Alex, good luck when they test you out. If you don't know how to do something, act like you're tired and hurt, okay?"**_

Alex blinked and nodded. " _ **Thank you, again. I promise, I'll do everything I can to get you and your trainer out of here. I owe you that, at least."**_

" _ **Thank you, that is all I ask,"**_ Espeon said before she and Purrloin left through the door.

A few minutes later, the door opened again. Revealing the scientist again, but there was someone else with her this time. The person was pretty lean and had an analytic look to him.

"Lord Mew appears to be recovering quite quickly, sir, but are you sure you want to test him out now?" The scientist asked.

The man gave a nod, "We need to know if the experiment was a success. For all we know his body can't even use any abilities at all."

"So shall we bring him to the arena?" The scientist asked.

"Yes, I want to see for myself what the dark Mew is capable of," he said. "We will need it to accomplish our goal, especially with that meddling Ghetsis standing in our way."

Alex frowned. 'I'm right here,' he thought. Unknowingly, he'd sent the thought out with a telepathic signal attached.

"What was that?" The man asked.

"It seems the Mew just sent out a telepathic thought to us, sir," the scientist answered.

"I see…" The man gave a smirk. "At least we know it can do that."

Alex blinked, completely unaware that he'd done that, but attempted to repeat it.

'I don't like being talked about as if I'm not here.'

The scientist gave a nervous look, "S-sir… he can understand human speech."

"This is getting more and more interesting," The man said. "Lord Mew, will you come to the arena with us? I wish to have a gauge of your ability. We are in need of your help to accomplish our goal."

Alex blinked. 'All I've been left with are questions. I just want one answer before I go with you. What exactly is it that you're planning?'

The man smiled. "Our first step is to revive the rest of your brethren, the Legends of Darkness. Then we seek to use your combined power to break the seal the imprisons your lord. Maliceus. Arceus' twin brother."

Alex blinked. Arceus… had a twin brother? But all of the origin stories said he hatched, alone, from an egg left adrift in the empty universe before he created everything. And the Legends of Darkness? None of this made sense to him. But the man spoke as if it should. So he supposed he should act like he knew.

'Alright. Take me to the arena.'

"Glad to hear it," The man said. "Come along then, follow me."

"Uh sir… Lord Mew may not be strong enough to levitate itself yet," The scientist said.

"Then ask him if he will grant you permission to carry him there."

"Wh-what?" The scientist gave a nervous frown.

"Did I stutter?"

"N-no sir…" She turned to Alex. "L-Lord Mew… may I…?"

Alex blinked, searching his mind again for any trace of instinct that would allow him to levitate. But if it was there, it wasn't revealing itself. So he looked up to the scientist and nodded.

The scientist gently picked him up. It reminded Alex how much smaller he's become compared to a full grown human. She carried him down the corridor with her supposed boss in front. The corridor was surprisingly wide, which made Alex wonder just how large the building they were in was.

"Lord Mew, do you wish to know my identity?" The man asked as he pushed a button to a door. "I am known as Simon, the CEO of the Helix Co."

'Helix Co.? And what exactly is it that you do here?'

"We are a people of business and experiments. We use whatever keeps us in business and afloat, while granting us the money we need for the technology for our research," Simon said. "That's the short version anyways. It would be boring if I had to go into detail."

The doors slide open, showing a huge stadium-like arena.

"Amy, go ahead and set Lord Mew down here," Simon said to the scientist.

"Y-yes sir," Amy nodded before gently putting Alex down.

Alex slowly unwrapped his tail from the scientist's arm, something he hadn't even noticed he'd done when she was carrying him, as his feet touched the ground. 'So what would you have me do here?'

"Just see if you can use any of your basic abilities, we want to be sure that… nothing went wrong upon your awakening," Simon said.

That word again. Awakening. Were they trying to make him think he was the real dark Mew, whoever or whatever that was?

'What could have gone wrong?'

"The machine we used to bring you back was still in the prototype phase. You were the first we used it on. So we wanted to make sure everything went as planned," Simon answered.

Alex nodded. 'So what are we going to do first?'

Amy, the scientist, was by a control panel and was pushing some buttons. A dummy came up from the ground.

"First we're going to test your psychic abilities. Can you levitate this dummy?"

Alex looked at the dummy, reaching for the signals that the Espeon had taught him about. It took more effort than he thought it would, but he was eventually able to manipulate the signals and send them to the dummy, commanding it to levitate. He managed to lift it off the ground for a few seconds before he let out a cry of pain as a sudden pain shot through his head, like a Drillbur digging into his skull.

The dummy fell back down as soon as Alex lost his concentration.

"Sir, Lord Mew's body still hasn't recovered from the awakening yet," Amy said. "We shouldn't be pushing him right now."

Simon gave a frown, "Perhaps you're right… but at least we were able to confirm he can indeed use his powers. That's all we needed to know."


	6. Chapter 6

**Old Friend and New**

 _I should've been there… I shouldn't have left him alone… this is my fault. If only I hadn't ran from that flock of Woobat, we would both be here right now. What are those kidnappers going to do with him? Oh Arceus, please let Alex be okay…_ Chari prayed silently.

"Let's get to the Pokemon Center," Aiden said. "I can contact the Union from there."

They made their way to the Pokemon Center, an easy trip considering the small size of the town. Nurse Joy greeted them when they entered, but neither of the two responded as they made their way to the call center. "You should get your Pokemon checked out while I make this call. Make sure those Woobat weren't carrying anything contagious."

"Yeah, okay…" Chari said, looking distracted.

Chari looked at Dustin and took out his Pokeball, "I'll probably need to put you back in your ball before I give it to Nurse Joy, okay?"

Dustin just gave a tired nod.

Chari pointed the Pokeball at the Oshawott and a red beam of light shot out at him. The beam of light turned Dustin into red energy before it sucked him into the Pokeball. Chari still wondered how Pokeballs can do that.

Going up to the counter, she held two of her Pokeballs out. Chari hadn't opened the Purrloin's Pokeball since she caught it, but she might as well let Nurse Joy check it and Dustin out.

There was a tug at Chari's jeans. "Sni?"

Chari looked down at Alex's Snivy and sighed, "I don't have your Pokeball, Lamia, but I'll ask if Nurse Joy can check you out." She put her hand over a bell on the counter. "Excuse me… Nurse Joy?"

The back doors open, revealing a young woman with red hair and an Audino wearing a nurse's hat beside her.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"I'd like to check out my Pokemon here, please," Chari said. "Ah…And this Snivy, if you don't mind." She looked down at Lamia, hesitant on picking her up.

Lamia just rolled her eyes before running up the girl's arm, making her yelp in surprise, before jumping onto the counter.

"Oh, sure I'll be more than happy to make sure your Pokemon are nice and healthy. And… is that a wild Snivy?" Nurse Joy asked, looking at Lamia, probably wondering why she's not in her Pokeball.

"No, she belongs to a friend of mine," Chari said. "But we got separated, so… I brought her here to make sure she's alright."

"I see… well at least you're responsible enough to take her here to make sure she's healthy," Nurse Joy said.

"Audino!" Audino smiled.

Lamia looked saddened at the mention of her trainer, her leaves drooping. "Sni…"

When Nurse Joy took the Pokemon to the back, Chari sat down in the waiting room, thinking to herself. Aiden was on the video phone, chatting with someone.

"We still don't know," Aiden said. "But the Helix Corporation's R&D department has been snooping around those caverns before, and we've always had our suspicions about them. They may have something to do with it."

"Normally, I'd agree, but kidnapping? What would they have to gain from that?"

"Slave labor? Test subjects? All I know is that he's the third trainer to go missing, and in a very similar manner to the others. And Helix has had some connection with all three of the crime scenes."

"We can't touch them," the voice responded. "Anything they _might_ have done could easily be pinned on Team Plasma. Whatever Helix is up to, they've covered their tracks extremely well."

"So we're just going to leave these kids to their fates?!"

"We're going to get more information before we act," the voice said firmly. "And until then, you are to stand down. I won't have you chasing shadows in the name of the Union. Once we have sufficient evidence, we'll go after them, but until then, there's just nothing we can do."

"But-"

"Goodbye, Aiden." The call ended.

Aiden was silent for a while before slamming his fist into the wall. Something cracked loudly, but Aiden clearly didn't care. He was too frustrated with the Union. So he stormed out of the Pokemon Center, his still clenched fist dripping blood onto the floor as he walked.

"H-hey… is everything okay…?" A timid voice asked behind him.

Aiden whipped around to see Chari and sighed. "The Union won't help. Not enough evidence against the prime suspect."

"The Union? For the Pokemon Rangers?" Chari asked, frowning. "Are you guys like the police? Do you really need evidence?"

Aiden sighed and nodded. "We're more of a military police. We operate internationally instead of locally. We can't take action unless the League gives us sanction to do so, and for that, we need evidence to support our case."

"Well if you suspect that someone's responsible, why not investigate? You can't have evidence if you just leave them be, right?" Chari suggested.

"There _have_ been investigations, and we've found _nothing._ And it's pissing me off because I know they're responsible and I can't do a damn thing!"

"... There must be some reason they kidnapped Alex…" Chari said. "Maybe if we knew why… we could… have the right bait…?"

"The only correlation we've found in the victims is that they were all relatively new trainers."

"You mean they've kidnapped more than just Alex?" Chari asked, surprised. "... New trainers, huh? I'm a new trainer myself…"

And whipped back to her. "No! I know what you're thinking and I won't allow it."

"Look, you can just use me for bait. You don't have to let them capture me, you just gotta catch them red handed," Chari said. "If you don't then they might just kidnap me anyways while I'm on my journey, so what's the problem?"

Aiden gritted his teeth. "The problem is that I might not be able to stop them. I told you, I'm just a new recruit. I have no partner, and my styler still has all of it's caps."

"Then maybe we can find a trainer who's skilled with Pokemon to help out," Chari said, remaining stern. "This is our best chance, do you really want to let it go and risk more people getting kidnapped because the Union couldn't find any evidence?"

Aiden was silent for a good minute before he shook his head. "Damn it, you're right. But… Striaton isn't frequented by veteran trainers, and the Striaton Gym Leaders don't carry powerful Pokemon with them."

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help overhearing that you're looking for veteran trainers?" Came another voice.

"Hmm? Who're you?" Chari asked.

It was a young woman who appeared to be in her late teens or possibly early twenties. She gave them a smile and said, "I don't know if this qualifies me as a 'veteran' trainer, but I have about seven gym badges with me. And my name is Sophie."

Aiden blinked. "We're trying to catch a kidnapper, and Chari here thinks that acting as bait is the best way for us to catch them. But we need someone powerful or experienced enough to take them in a fight if it comes to that."

"I'm sure I can be of some help then," Sophie said with a smile. "If you still have doubts, you can take a look at my Pokemon and judge for yourself if they're up to the task. A friend of mine went missing too recently, and I want to help find them."

Aiden frowned. "Who, might I ask?"

"Just someone I was travelling with. Her name was Mira, and she just got started on her journey not long ago. I was helping her with her training, but when I went off on my own for a while… well, she was gone when I came back," Sophie said. "I doubt she'd go anywhere without me, so I can only assume she was kidnapped. The ground looked like there was a struggle too."

Aiden sighed. "Mira is the name of one of the three victims we know about."

"Who are the other two?" Sophie asked.

"Some kid named Matthew, and Chari's friend Alex."

"Wait… Alex?" Sophie looked at Chari. "It's a common name, I'm sure… but how old was he? If he was on a Pokemon journey, what Pokemon did he start with? What did he look like?"

Chari frowned, "... He was… I don't know, 18 I think? And he had a Snivy, and uh… he had brown hair and… uh… hey, are you okay?"

"... Oh… it's nothing. Just… thinking of an old friend…" Sophie said nonchalantly. "Well that's it, I've made up my mind; I'm going to help with this crazy plan."

Aiden frowned. "Are you sure? These people are dangerous. If just one thing goes wrong, we're all fucked."

Sophie put her hands on her hips, "Hey! You watch that language there, mister. There are kids out and about you know."

Chari sighed and added, "And if something _does_ go wrong, at least you'll have the evidence you need."

Aiden nodded. "Alright. I guess the only thing to do now is set the trap. They usually hit people while they're on the trail, with as few witnesses as possible. So we should follow Route 3 for a while before setting up camp. That's when they should attack."

"Alright, sounds good to me," Sophie said.

"Oh, I should go see if my Pokemon and Lamia are ready," Chari said. "Then we can go."

* * *

About half an hour passed as everyone got ready and gathered supplies, and soon enough, they were on Route 3 as Striaton City faded in the distance. "Sorry you couldn't get your gym challenge because of all this," Aiden said to Chari.

"It's okay… I haven't done a lot of training yet anyways, and I doubt I'd be able to until Alex… and everyone else for that matter, is safe from these guys," Chari said.

"So we're going to go out in the middle of the route and just wait?" Sophie asked.

"That's the plan, what else can we do?" Chari asked. "Just make sure you have a camera nearby so someone will see it in case something goes horribly wrong."

"We'll set up camp when night starts to fall and feign splitting up," Aiden said. "I'll go out to 'gather firewood' and Sophie could pretend to go off looking for berries."

"By the way Chari, what kind of Pokemon do you have?" Sophie asked.

"I have an Oshawott and… well I just caught a Purrloin, but I haven't really… used it yet," Chari said.

"Ooh, so you chose an Oshawott too?" Sophie smiled. "That was what I chose when I started out my Pokemon journey. Maybe I could give you some pointers."

"Is this the time to be training?" Chari asked.

"Well we have some daylight to kill, so why not? And it would be a good time for you to practice with your new Purrloin," Sophie said.

"Snivy, Sni," Lamia said.

"She's right," Aiden said. "We're a good distance from Striaton now, so we've got plenty of time before we need to make camp."

"Alright… well I guess we could work on Dustin and Purrloin," Chari said hesitantly.

While Aiden was working on the camp, Chari released both Dustin and Purrloin from their respective Pokeballs.

"Osha!" Dustin smiled.

"Purrr?" Purrloin looked around curiously.

Sophie knelt down and smiled at the two. "They look healthy. And this Oshawott looks pretty tough for a starter."

"Oshawott!" Dustin gave a proud smirk.

"Purrloin…?" Purrloin looked at him.

"You think so?" Chari said. "I just figured most Oshawott's were naturally tough."

"They are, but Dustin in particular looks more so than most." She stood. "Before we do anything, are you going to nickname your Purrloin?"

"Uh…" Chari looked at Purrloin, who looked back at her. "Well… I don't know if Purrloin even likes me yet… nor do I know its gender…"

"Purrr~" Purrloin gave a smile at Dustin, who flinched away from it.

"Osha… wott…?" Dustin gave a nervous smile.

"Uh…?" Chari blinked at the interaction.

Purrloin gave Dustin a wink, making him blush a little.

"Oh, I get it, you're a female, right?" Chari said.

Purrloin gave her a nod.

"Well then, I think I'll call you Huntress… since you hunted me down and stole my granola bar…" Chari said.

The Purrloin, now named Huntress, just gave a grin at that, as if she was proud of the little event.

Sophie chuckled. "She'll definitely be trouble for your male Pokemon."

"She was pretty much trouble for me when we first met," Chari said. "But now that we have the nickname out of the way, what do you want me to do for training?"

"How about a spar between Dustin and Huntress?"

"A spar between my own Pokemon?" Chari tilted her head at that. "Can… I even do that?"

"Sure! I do it all the time. If you leave them to spar on their own, they'll learn to think for themselves in a battle, which will help them improve reaction time if they start to think of the same things as you."

Chari looked at Dustin and Huntress before she said, "Would you two want to spar with each other?"

Dustin gave a nod, "Osha! Oshawott!" He tapped himself and his scalchop.

"Purrr~" Huntress gave a smirk of her own at the Oshawott.

"I'll take that as a yes," Chari said.

Chari watched in silence as her two Pokemon duke it out with each other. Dustin had the upper hand in strength, though Huntress was a lot sneakier. Both of them had their own strengths and weaknesses that Chari hoped she would remember later.

Sophie smiled. "While they're at that, I'm gonna show you a few things." She took out her Pokedex. "The first thing we'll be doing is…"

* * *

Hours later, the sun began to set and Aiden came over to them. "We should set up camp now, while there's still some light left."

"I thought you were already setting it up?" Chari said while she was feeding Oran berries to her tired out Pokemon.

"Yeah, but now we need to get to gathering firewood and supplies to replenish what we have. That's best done at sunset, when most Pokemon will be on their way to their dens, and won't be out to bother us."

"Snivy?" Lamia pointed at herself.

"Yeah, maybe you can go with Aiden to gather the firewood, maybe you can work on your Vine Whip," Chari said to Lamia, already guessing what the Snivy wanted to do.

Lamia smiled and nodded. "Vy."

"Alright, we'll I'll go get us some water," Sophie said. "You sure you'll be alright by yourself, Chari?"

"Yeah, it seems to be pretty peaceful out here," Chari said. "And I have my Oshawott and Purrloin to help keep me safe from the wild Pokemon."

Aiden looked at the two and then made his way into the forest, Lamia following behind. He circled a wide perimeter of the camp in his search so he could hear anything that happened.

Sophie took her leave of the opposite direction. Leaving Chari alone on the route. Dustin and Huntress were Chari's only company. Chari began to feel a little nervous, but all was quiet so far.

After a while, the sound of footprints sounded through the quiet night. And the last figure Chari would have expected walked into the camp. It was Zane.

"Chari? On Route 3 already? Did you not challenge the Striaton Gym?"

"Hi Zane… I didn't think I'd run into you out here," Chari said. "And I'm going to train more before I take on the Striaton Gym… I hear it's tough for beginners because they use the type stronger to the starter Pokemon I have."

"That's partially true. You'll challenge two of the three gym leaders. The one you have an advantage over and the one that has an advantage over you. The gym's theme is the importance of type advantage, as well as teaching that it's not everything in a Pokemon battle."

"Yeah, I know the type doesn't always matter, but I still want to be sure Dustin is strong enough to take them on," Chari said. "So Zane… what're you doing way out here? I figured you'd be back home by now or something."

Zane smiled. "I'm, uh… I'm doing some errands for my dad."

"Purrr?" Huntress looked at Zane. "Purr Purrloin…"

"Oh, I just caught a Purrloin and named her Huntress," Chari said. "It was more or less an accident, but hey, at least I managed to catch her, right?"

Zane smiled. "Most people choose to pass over Purrloins because they don't trust them. But they really only steal out of necessity. Most of them quit doing it once they've been captured because they'll get everything they need from their trainers." Zane looked around and frowned. "Wait a second. Where's that shy friend of yours?"

"You mean Alex?" Chari gave a sigh. "We… got separated… so I guess you can say I'm alone right now. I… just hope he's… doing okay."

"I'm sure he is. He seemed pretty capable when I met him."

"You think so?" Chari gave a small smile. "Oh, I got some extra berries we could share in case you're hungry." She turned around to grab some berries.

The moment her back was turned, Zane slowly took out a syringe and began walking closer. "I'm almost out of berries. Came out here to grab some more. I was… pleasantly surprised when I came across you."

"Sure, I'll see if I have any extras," Chari said, completely unaware of what Zane had planned for her.

"OSHA!" Dustin yelled out when he saw the syringe in Zane's hand. "OSHAWOTT!"

Acting quickly, Zane lunged forward and tried to plunge the needle into Chari's neck.

Chari only had time to gasp from the sudden needle piercing her neck before she fell to her knees and looked at Zane while her eyes were closing. "W-why…?"

Dustin and Huntress leaped forward to attack Zane.

Zane hastily dodged the two and tossed a Pokeball, releasing a Garchomp. Just in time for Sophie and Aiden to rush into the camp.

The Garchomp easily swatted Dustin and Huntress to the side while Sophie took out a Dusk Ball and threw it, releasing a Haxorus.

Zane frowned, not having expected such heavy resistance, but shrugged. "Take them all out with Draco Meteor."

Garchomp complied, charging an orange sphere of draconic energy before launching it into the sky, as it broke apart and rained hell down on the others.

Chari didn't get to see what happened next as her eyes closed and everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

**A Brief Reunion**

Chari woke up to find herself in a cage. She tried to reach for her Pokeballs, only to find they were all gone. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was, and it appeared to be some kind of… laboratory if she had to guess. Beside her were Aiden and Sophie, they were in cages too. The last thing Chari remembered was Zane… he attacked them and put her to sleep.

"Aiden…? Sophie…? Are you two… awake?" Chari asked.

Aiden groaned as he awoke. He seemed covered in burn marks and bruises, likely the result of the Draco Meteor that had knocked him out. "Am now," he said. When he got a good look at where they were, he panicked for a bit, before regaining his composure. "Where are we?"

"I don't know… I just woke up myself…" Chari said.

"We've been kidnapped," Sophie spoke up. "Isn't it obvious where we are? We're in these people's lab. They're going to experiment on us."

Aiden frowned. "Is this what happened to all those kids that disappeared?"

"... W-what about our Pokemon?" Chari asked, getting an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Gone. They took them, probably to use them for their own goals later," Sophie said bitterly. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"S-shouldn't we try to get out of here?" Chari asked.

"How? We have no Pokemon, no tools, we're basically just lab Rattatas about to get experimented on," Sophie said.

As if on cue, the lights turned on, and someone in a white lab coat walked in, accompanied by six guards. He walked by the cages, getting a good look at the three prisoners, before gesturing to the guards. Two of them went to each cage, one unlocking it and the other roughly grabbing it's occupant, and they were escorted through the halls to another location. They walked into a room with some complex machinery. In a glass case on one of the machines was a shard of stone that seemed to be radiating some kind of sinister energy. There was a one-way window in the room which gave them a view of a blank room. The only entrance seemed to be from the observation area they were in.

"Toss in the Ranger first, and prime sample C-251."

The guards roughly shoved Aiden through the door and into the white room before shutting and locking it, while one of the other scientists grabbed a vial and inserted it into the machine.

Chari couldn't do anything but just watch. She felt terrified. What was going to happen to Aiden? To them? Were they going to die?

"Activate the device."

The scientists went to work on the board in front of them, setting dials, pushing buttons, and typing in commands. Soon, Aiden began screaming as his body was surrounded in a dark, sinister energy, similar to what had been rolling off the stone. His body began to shrink, the darkness hiding the extent of what was happening to him. When it faded… Aiden was gone. In it's place was… something that looked like a Celebi. But it was it was white, with black where there should have been a deep green. And it's blue eyes were instead a deep red. The Celebi passed out quickly, and the scientist smiled.

"Another successful trial." He looked to the other two before focusing on Sophie and pointing to her. "Her next. Sample V-494."

Chari gasped when she saw what happened to Aiden. Did he just turn into a Pokemon? It's not one she's ever seen before.

"H-hey! What are you doing to us!?" Sophie screamed as they were shoving her towards the machine.

"Giving you a higher purpose. Not that you'll remember it when the process is completed." Then the door was shut. Once again, buttons were pushed, dials spun, and commands entered into the computer, and Sophie screamed just as Aiden did. The dark energy enveloped her as her body shrunk as well, and dark fire rose from her body as the machine began to overheat. When it faded, a Victini, black and red instead of cream and orange, was in her place.

Chari was almost hyperventilating at this point. She couldn't believe she just witnessed both of her friends turning into Pokemon right before her eyes.

"S-stop this, please stop… this… this is inhumane!" Chari cried in fear. "This isn't right… we're not supposed to be experimenting with nature like this!" She was in tears by this point.

"We're only doing what's already been done before," the scientist said, gesturing to the guards to take her in.

"No! Leave me alone!" Chari yelled, struggling against their hold on her. "Stop! I don't want to be a Pokemon!"

The guards ignored her as they shoved her into the machine, shutting the door. Chari banged against the door with her fists, and briefly wondered if this happened to Alex. She kept trying to hit the door with her fists as the machine began to whir to life.

Chair turned her head to the dark energy being produced above her, before she said a prayer. "Dear Arceus… don't let me lose my humanity…"

And that was all she had time to say before the dark energy flowed to her. Chari let out a pain filled scream as Aiden and Sophie did before her. Her body began to shrink as red grass began to grow from her back. Her body turning black as a pair of purple flowers grew on the side of her head, and golden yellow jaded leaves growing from the flowers. When the pain faded, Chari panted, her body was now a dark version of Shaymin (land form), before she fainted.

* * *

Alex didn't get much sleep that night. He was still confined to that blank white room, although they put a soft bed in there for him to rest on. But he couldn't close his eyes. He was too busy looking at his reflection in the mirror.

" _ **How is this even possible?"**_ He asked himself aloud. He shook his head. " _ **And what exactly are the Dark Legends? And who is Maliceus?"**_ He shook his head and sighed. " _ **Asking myself questions I don't have the answer to is going to get me nowhere."**_

The door let out a click sound, and someone opened it. Alex turned his attention to whoever came in. It was a young man with dark brown hair, he appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties.

"Hey there… uh… Lord Mew. My boss told me to see if you wanted to see some new companions…" The boy said in a sheepish manner, looking unsure how to word that.

Alex blinked. " _New companions?"_

"Yeah… um…" The boy looked even more nervous after Alex used telepathy on him. "You want to go see them? Even if it's just to get out of this stuffy room for a bit?"

Alex thought for a bit and nodded. Whoever these 'companions' were… perhaps they could help each other.

"A-alright then, follow me, if you will, Lord Mew."

The boy turned walked out the door, while Alex followed, though he still wasn't used to his big feet.

"Hmm?" The boy blinked at him. "You… still can't levitate yourself? That's… weird, the scientists said your cells should've finished adapting by now…"

Alex looked up. " _It's going a lot slower than expected. But I'm adjusting, at least. I should be able to use some of my basic powers soon."_

"Ah, okay. I guess I can't argue there since I'm not a Pokemon," The boy said. "Your companions are resting up, as they were just awakened a few hours ago. They should wake up soon."

The boy led Alex through the corridors, before stopping in front of a door. Using a card, the boy slide it through a slot and the door opened, revealing three Pokemon sleeping in three beds. Alex's eyes widened at he saw. A Celebi, a Victini, and a Shaymin. But… like him, they looked different from how they should. Darker. More sinister.

Alex walked into the room, gazing at each of them. He wanted so badly to ask what they were, and who they used to be, but doing so would blow his cover.

The Victini began to stir. It gave a small groan before shaking its head, blinking open its red eyes. Its ears gave a twitch as it looked at Alex.

Alex just looked back, astonished, but trying not to show it.

The dark Victini jumped down from the bed and landed in front of him before it said, " _ **Hey Mew! Long time no see! How's life been treating ya? I feel like I just woke up from a long nap, boy my body is stiff. I tell ya, I don't know how Jirachi does it. I couldn't stand having to sleep that long!"**_

Alex blinked. 'He… thinks he's really a Victini? What is going on? Guess I should play along.'

He nodded. " _ **I've been… fine. But adjusting has been slow. I still can't really use my powers."**_

Victini gave him a curious look before trying to fly, the wings on its flank fluttered before it fell back down. " _ **What sorcery is this? Have our powers been diminished while we were sleeping?"**_

Alex shrugged. " _ **I was told that our 'awakening' took a toll on us, and it'll take a while to regain our strength."**_

" _ **That's so boring! I don't want to have to stay in one spot!"**_ The Victini hissed in annoyance.

A groan sounded as the Celebi came to. " _ **What hit me? The last thing I remember is fighting Arceus's cronies."**_

" _ **Oh about time you woke up, ya lazy time traveler,"**_ Victini huffed. " _ **It seems we were all put to sleep by Arceus and his cronies. Ugh, I'm so stiff right now… I gotta fly or burn something, but I can hardly make smoke right now."**_

Celebi frowned. " _ **Sleep? I was under the impression they wanted us dead."**_

" _ **Sleep, death, the details aren't all that important. But I'm bored. Are we really going to have to stay here all day?"**_

" _ **I think we'll have to stay until our powers return,"**_ Alex said. " _ **Which might be a while. I've been here since yesterday."**_

" _ **Hmm… Hey Mew, you seem pretty docile lately. Did something happen between you and your goodie-goodie counterpart?"**_ Victini asked Alex.

"Huh? R-right now sir? … No, only two of them are awake right now…" The boy's voice spoke up, getting Alex's attention. "Are you sure we should test them _now_?"

Alex blinked and looked back to Victini and Celebi. " _ **Sounds like someone's coming to get you two."**_

The young man walked over to the two and said, "Um… Lady Victini. Lord Celebi… my boss would like to see you two now… if that's okay."

" _ **Who is this? Is this a human? My they sure look different from how they were before,"**_ Victini said.

" _ **It's… been a long time,"**_ Alex said, suddenly remembering the mural in the cave. " _ **Thousands of years."**_

" _ **And you expect us to follow some lowly human?"**_ Victini said, rolling its red eyes.

" _ **It's either that or stay here all day, powerless,"**_ Celebi said.

Victini frowned. " _ **Good point."**_

So the two dark legendary Pokemon followed the young man out of the room, leaving Alex alone with the still unconscious dark Shaymin.

Before long, however, the Shaymin began to stir and rolled on its grassy back before blinking open its red eyes. " _ **Hmmm…?"**_

Alex blinked and walked over. " _ **You're awake. You were out for longer than the others."**_

" _ **Huh?"**_ The Shaymin blinked at Alex before letting out a high pitched squeal and falling off the bed. " _ **Wh-wh-wh-what the!? Are you talking to me!?"**_

Alex blinked again, surprised. Is she… was she like him? Did she remember her life before? He decided to remain silent and watch.

The Shaymin looked at him before looking around the place in shock and worry. Then it looked down at itself before frowning and looking back at him.

" _ **Um… h-hello there… Mew…?"**_ The Shaymin sounded very unsure and feminine.

Alex blinked. " _ **Are you alright? What's wrong?"**_

" _ **... Nothing. Uh… where are we?"**_

" _ **Some laboratory somewhere. I don't know much else."**_

" _ **Oh…"**_ The Shaymin gave an awkward pause and didn't know what else to say.

Alex frowned. " _ **Is something wrong?"**_ He asked again.

" _ **My entire life,"**_ She muttered darkly. " _ **Maybe this whole thing is just one big, messed up dream."**_

Alex blinked again. He was sure of it. She remembered. " _ **What's your name?"**_

" _ **... N-name? I'm… uh…"**_ She frowned, looking down at herself. " _ **... Er… I don't know…?"**_

Alex froze. Had he made a mistake? Had he just sentenced himself to death or something worse?

" _ **Do you have a name…?"**_ The Shaymin asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

" _ **... Alex. My name is Alex."**_

" _ **... Alex…? Wait… ALEX? Is this what happened to you?"**_ The Shaymin asked in shock, looking at him from head to tail. " _ **I can't believe it, you're actually a Mew!?"**_

Alex took a step back in surprise. " _ **Just wait a second. I still don't know who you are."**_

" _ **... Oh right… I guess you wouldn't recognize me… I'm Chari. Remember me?"**_

Alex's eyes widened. " _ **Chari?! She got you too?"**_

" _ **Who? I don't know who got you, but Zane was the one who kidnapped me. And a Pokemon Ranger named Aiden, and another Pokemon Trainer named Sophie. We've all been… turned into… Pokemon."**_ Chari frowned.

Alex's heart twinged at the name "Sophie". 'No. It couldn't be her.' " _ **The others. Were they turned into a Victini and Celebi?"**_

" _ **... Y-yeah, I… I think so, but they looked… different from the books."**_

Alex sighed. " _ **They're… not themselves anymore. I think whatever did this to us altered their minds somehow. Made them forget who we are in favor of making them think they truly are what they appear to be now."**_

" _ **But… why… why didn't it work on us?"**_

Alex shook his head. " _ **I don't know. But we'll get out of here and find out, I promise. I'm already working with an Espeon and a Purrloin to escape."**_

" _ **Sounds like you've been busy while you've been here,"**_ Chari said. " _ **... I lost Lamia… as well as Dustin and my own Purrloin… which I named Huntress, when Zane kidnapped us."**_

Alex looked dismayed. " _ **Wh… what did they do with them?"**_

" _ **I don't know. Sophie said they took them somewhere to be trained and used for their own future goals,"**_ Chari said.

Alex sighed in relief. " _ **At least they didn't kill them."**_

" _ **... Alex… what do we do now? We're lab experiments… I can't believe they did this to you… to us… we're freaks of nature now!"**_ Chari began to cry.

" _ **I don't think we're just lab experiments,"**_ Alex said, thinking. " _ **They keep referring to us as if we're above them. They've only called me Lord Mew. And they seem to believe that, like Aiden and Sophie, my mind was altered during the transformation. And they told me that they were going to 'revive' more of us, and free someone or something called Maliceus."**_

" _ **This is all so wrong… why would they do this?"**_ Chari rubbed her face with her small paws as if it was in instinct. " _ **I mean I respect Pokemon and all, but I never wanted to**_ **be** _**one! Let alone some weird, corrupted version of… whatever the heck I'm supposed to be!"**_

Alex blinked. " _ **I think you're a Shaymin. It's a Mythical Pokemon native to Sinnoh."**_

" _ **A Shaymin? … Oh yeah, I think I've read some books about them. Wait, why am I a Shaymin and you're a Mew?"**_ Chari asked.

Alex nodded. " _ **Maybe it has something to do with our patron Legendaries, or maybe it's a random decision. I don't really know. They haven't told me much. They've been dodging all of my questions."**_

" _ **I doubt you could've asked them any if they think your mind's been altered,"**_ Chari pointed out.

The door opened again suddenly, revealing the young man from earlier and this time he had a familiar Espeon beside him.

"Okay Espeon, we're here, what did you want to do?" The young man asked.

Espeon just gave a nod to him before turning to the two dark legendary Pokemon.

" _ **Hey… uh…"**_ She stopped when she noticed the dark Shaymin beside him.

" _ **It's fine. She's like me. We were actually travelling together before… all of this."**_

" _ **Oh, really?"**_

Chari gave a nervous smile at the Espeon before curling behind Alex.

Alex looked back and frowned. Chari had never seemed this afraid before. Sure, she was scared of Pokemon. But she seemed downright terrified right now. And it worried him.

" _ **Hey, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you,"**_ Espeon said gently to the little Shaymin.

" _ **Please, don't look at me… I'm an abomination,"**_ Chari said softly.

Espeon frowned before she looked at Alex and said, " _ **Well… Purrloin said she saw where they took the Pokemon they stole earlier. We figured maybe we could help them escape and they could help us in return. She's working on a way of getting them out right now."**_

Alex nodded. " _ **My starter is with them, as well as Chari's and her Purrloin."**_ Alex looked up at the boy. " _ **But what about him? Is he your trainer?"**_

" _ **Yup. This is Daniel, he's my trainer. He's pretty shy actually,"**_ Espeon said.

Alex nodded. " _ **I caught that when he came to get me from my room. He doesn't seem like he wants to be here either."**_

" _ **Of course he doesn't, but Helix doesn't make it easy for those who sign up to just leave. They already know too much,"**_ Espeon sighed. " _ **Anyway, I'm hoping this time we can all get out of here."**_

" _ **H-how?"**_ Chari timidly asked. " _ **I mean… how are we going to get out of here? And even if we did… wouldn't these people just come after us again?"**_

" _ **We'll be using both of your powers to help us escape. As long as you two keep making these people believe you're the real deals, they'll give you free leisure of the place. When they do and you're able to use your powers, that's when we'll put our plan into action,"**_ Espeon said.

Alex sighed. " _ **It's been a day and all I can do is telepathy. It's going to be a while before I can use any more of my power."**_

" _ **That's fine. You don't need any big fancy powers right now for this to work, just enough to break down a door,"**_ Espeon said. " _ **I'll be helping you with my own powers."**_

"Um… Espeon, we should probably go soon… the boss would get pretty mad if we stayed with the legendaries too long…" Daniel said nervously.

" _ **In the meantime, you two try to help each other get a little stronger,"**_ Espeon said before walking back to her trainer.

" _ **What about Purrloin?"**_ Alex asked. " _ **Who even is her trainer? And how do we know we can trust her?"**_

" _ **Purrloin may be mischievous, but she wants to get out of here as much as I do,"**_ Espeon said. " _ **Just trust me, if we don't have trust then we'll never be able to get out of here."**_

Alex frowned before relenting with a sigh and nodding. " _ **Alright. I guess I'll see you in a bit."**_

Espeon left with her trainer, leaving Alex and Chari alone in the room again.

Chari looked at Alex, her red eyes full of fear and doubt. " _ **Um… Alex… it's freaky that I can understand Pokemon, but… am I really going to have to battle like one too?"**_

Alex nodded. " _ **And we'll be fighting for a long time. Even if we escape, I don't think Helix will stop chasing us."**_ He sighed. " _ **And there's no telling how other Pokemon will react to us."**_

" _ **But I don't want to live this way!"**_ Chari squealed. " _ **This isn't natural, what if we die? What if Arceus smites us because of what we became? My body could be rotting for all I know because of how unstable and unnatural this is!"**_

" _ **I don't know!"**_ Alex shouted, all of his tension and fear exploding out at once. " _ **I don't have any answers either! You think you're the only one panicking because of all of this?! I don't even know what the hell we are!"**_

" _ **This isn't real… you're not real, I'm not real, none of this real,"**_ Chari said, mostly to herself, curling her body into a tight ball, exposing on her red leaves.

Alex calmed down seeing Chari like this and gently placed his paw on her head. " _ **We'll find answers. Find out how to become human again. But we can't just give up like this."**_

For a while, Chari didn't answer, still curled in a tight ball. Alex stayed by her aside, hoping to try and calm her down.

" _ **Chari, I can't do this without your help. If you give up, I… I might too. And I can't stand the thought of just resigning ourselves to this."**_

After about another minute or two, Chari finally uncurled herself and looked at the dark Mew with a sad look on her face. " _ **... I… I'm sorry… I've always had some problems with… anxiety. Do you… really think we'll be able to… solve this…?"**_

Alex nodded. " _ **We have to stay positive. Otherwise we'll just be crushed under the weight of our own hopelessness."**_

" _ **... O-okay… I'll… I'll try not to panic again… I don't want to be a dead weight… I'll try my best to help,"**_ Chari said.

Alex smiled at her. " _ **Thank you."**_

* * *

Hours passed and Alex was back in his room again. A scientist had taken Chari away for testing, and she managed to keep her composure throughout the process. Then they took her to her own room and told her that she needed to rest some more. Now he was alone, waiting for the next scientist to come by, or for any news from Espeon or Purrloin.

There was a tap on his door, getting the dark Mew's attention. The door slowly opened, revealing Purrloin.

" _ **Hey, so… was the Snivy your Pokemon before you were… changed?"**_ Purrloin asked.

Alex noticed a familiar Snivy standing behind the Purrloin, and it was looking at him in curiosity.

Alex's eyes widened at the sight of it. " _ **Lamia?"**_ He asked.

The Snivy came closer to him before she said, " _ **... Alex? Is that really you?"**_

Alex's heart jumped as he realized he could understand her now. He nodded. " _ **Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"**_

" _ **Oh Alex! So it's true. You really have been turned into a Pokemon!"**_ Lamia said with a start, before she ran up to him. " _ **But I'm so glad you're still you! And I'm fine, they haven't done anything to me, other than keep me and the others in cages."**_

Alex nodded. " _ **I'm so glad you're okay,"**_ he said, before turning to Purrloin. " _ **Thank you so much. But she can't stay with me. So what are you going to do with her and the others?"**_

" _ **Obviously, she'll come with me to the garden. That's where Helix keeps all their untrained Pokemon for future grunts,"**_ Purrloin said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

Alex nodded and turned back to Lamia. " _ **We're going to get out of here in a few days. Just please stay safe until then."**_

" _ **Okay… you too, Alex,"**_ Lamia said back to him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. Sorry for the long absence, but do to some life issues, I had to slow down with writing. Not to mention letting the story sit for a while to gather a few more viewers is never really a bad thing. But now I'm able to write and update again, so here's the next chapter, which has been gathering dust until I finally got the time to post it.**

* * *

 **Gaining Power**

Chari was lying on her stomach on the cold floor. She was too small and new to this body, so she didn't know how to climb up to the bed. She was silently thinking to herself, about what happened to her and her friends, wondering if this means she'll be punished for being a crime against nature itself now, and whether or not she's trapped her for the rest of her miserable life.

The doors opened up, surprising Chari, making her hurry to her feet. Chari instinctively tried to stand on her hind feet, before losing balance and falling over on her face.

There was a chuckle before a Purrloin walked, " _ **Hey, hey, I can walk on my hind legs just fine, but I don't think you're meant to."**_

" _ **..."**_ Chari looked at the the Purrloin, as if expecting her to do something.

The Purrloin rolled her eyes before she said, " _ **Look, I got your Pokemon buddies out of their cages and they demanded to see you. So you might as well talk to them for a bit, you look like you could use some company."**_

Chari didn't respond to the Purrloin, but a familiar face walked in from behind the Purrloin.

Dustin. He looked a little worse for wear, but otherwise seemed okay. And Huntress walked in behind him. " _ **Ch… Chari?"**_

Chari looked at the Oshawott in shock, having gotten used to Dustin always just saying his species name it was weird to hear actual words coming from him. " _ **Dustin…? Huntress?"**_

The Oshawott nodded shakily. And there was an odd fear in his eyes. Huntress as well was looking at her with hidden fear. But also some hint of admiration. " _ **They're really trying to free him,"**_ she said. " _ **I can't believe that humans would be so bold."**_

" _ **What?"**_ Chari looked at the two. " _ **Do you two know… what happened to me? What I've become? Please, tell me what you know…"**_

Dustin refused to speak, but Huntress walked forward and began speaking. " _ **You are one of the Legends of Darkness. Created by Maliceus by drawing the darkness from the hearts of the original Legendaries and giving it physical form. The machine, as I understand it, was meant to force your soul into dormancy and replace it with the soul of Dark Shaymin. But somehow, you and Alex resisted this."**_

" _ **... There really is an evil version of Arceus? That's… wow… but wait, if I still exist in this Dark Shaymin's body, then where's the real Dark Shaymin's soul now?"**_ Chari asked, trying to cope with what she's hearing.

" _ **Either it's still lying in the stone that imprisons them… or it's dormant within you."**_

" _ **... So if it is within me, I'm basically a ticking time bomb,"**_ Chari's expression was surprisingly neutral, even though she was absolutely terrified. " _ **... Dustin, Huntress… will you two be okay?"**_

They both nodded. " _ **I'm more worried about you,"**_ Dustin said. " _ **I… I know we don't know each other too well, but… I know that this must be hitting you pretty hard. You seemed pretty fragile to me."**_

" _ **I'm… W-well I've… never been particularly strong… uh… you two shouldn't stay here too long… these people might check on me soon…"**_ While Chari was happy to see the faces of her Pokemon, she wanted to be left alone right now.

Dustin nodded. " _ **Just promise me you'll be alright."**_

" _ **I'd … rather not make promises I can't keep…"**_ Chari said softly. " _ **I don't know what these people will do with me… but… I'll try, okay Dustin?"**_

Dustin nodded. " _ **Huntress won't say it, but she's worried too."**_ Said Purrloin gave him a soft glare as he said this.

It was just now Chari noticed some slight differences between Huntress and the other Purrloin. Huntress's color was slightly darker than Purrloin's. Most people probably wouldn't notice at first glance, but each and every Pokemon do have slight differences from each other, even if they're hard to see.

" _ **Well, if you two are done then we should be going now. I can hear someone approaching this room,"**_ The Purrloin said.

Chari walked up to Dustin and Huntress, and gave them a small head cuddle before she said, " _ **You two be safe until we can find a way out of here, okay?"**_

Dustin nodded, and Huntress just gave her a calm look.

The Purrloin lead Dustin and Huntress out of the room, leaving Chari alone again. Not even five minutes had passed before the door opened again, and another scientist walked in.

"The CEO would like to see you, Lady Shaymin."

Chari looked up at the scientist. It was very strange to hear him calling her 'Lady Shaymin'. How could they even tell what gender she was?

Not wanting to cause any trouble, Chari stood up on her four paws and walked towards the scientist, but because she was so small she wasn't moving very fast at her pace, and she didn't know how to run with paws this short.

The scientist frowned at this. "I'm afraid Mr. Xavier doesn't have a lot of time at the moment, so if we're going to get this done, I'll need to carry you. Is that alright?"

Chari just nodded at him.

The scientist bent down and gently picked her up. It felt both nice and awkward to be carried around by someone, something Chari never thought would happen again since her early childhood years.

The scientist brought her down the corridor and into what appeared to be some kind of arena or stadium. Chari became very nervous, were they planning on making her fight in some sort of gladiator game?

"There you are," a voice said, as a man dressed in a sharp business suit revealed himself. "Our fourth successful awakening. How are, my Lady?"

Chari was trying not to seem so intimidated by this man, but she had trouble keeping her body from shivering like some scared animal.

 _Stop shaking!_ She mentally yelled at herself.

"Sh-Shay…" She managed to squeak out.

Simon frowned. "Seems like you're still struggling to readjust to your body. But all of the others are having the same problems, so that's to be expected." He looked to the scientist. "Is there no way to circumvent this?"

The scientist shook his head. "It's like waking up from a coma. The mind needs to acclimate itself with controlling the body, and that takes time. There's no way we can speed up the process."

Chari sighed in relief, glad that her shivering was considered normal since she just 'woke up'. However, there's still the issue of making her battle, she had no idea how attacks work, nor if she could even use any attacks.

"So I assume we won't be able to test any of her abilities?"

"Actually, there are a couple," The scientist responded. "When exposed to a special flower, Shaymin's are able to draw energy from its pollen and change forms. And the few Shaymins that have been encountered are reported to have utilized telepathy."

Chari blinked upon hearing this. She had read books about Shaymin, but the book didn't have much information about them, so all of this was news to her.

 _Shaymin had another form? And they can use telepathy? How? They're not even Psychic types… right?_ Chari thought to herself. _Do I have another form? I mean does this Dark Shaymin body I'm in even have the same kind of biology as a normal Shaymin do?_

Simon nodded. "Let's start with telepathy. Lord Mew seemed to have an easy enough time using it." He turned to Chari. "What do you think, Lady Shaymin? Are you willing to try?"

Chari almost squeaked in fear at the sudden attention, but she gave a small nod to him. This put her in a tough situation, because she didn't know anything about telepathy. She gave an unsure look, hoping maybe they could explain it to her somehow, and prayed to Arceus above that they didn't assume that the actual Dark Shaymin should already know how to use telepathy.

Simon frowned. "I suppose a natural ability would be difficult to perform if one actually had to make an attempt." He sighed. "But I don't know the first thing about Psychic abilities."

"Lord Mew told me that a new recruit's Espeon helped him to learn to use his powers again."

Simon raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Very well. Find him and bring him here. In the meantime, we can test her other ability. Do you have any of the flowers on hand?"

The scientist nodded and pulled a glass case from his pocket, which contained a preserved Gracidea flower. "Once she uses it, she'll be bonded to it."

Chari looked at the flower before frowning. What did the scientist mean by she'll be bonded to it? She wished she could just run away from here. She feared they were going to force her into another painful transformation and she may not get so lucky to keep her mind this time.

Simon took the glass case from the scientist before opening it, exposing the flower. Chari backed away a little bit, but tried not to make it too obvious.

Simon gently took out to flower and placed it on the ground. "I'm assuming it works similarly to an evolution stone?"

The scientist nodded. "Theoretically, yes, except that the Shaymin wills the transformation to occur. It should be easier for her to do than telepathy, since her body will do most of the work for her."

Chari looked at the flower on the floor, not sure what to do. She didn't want to touch the flower and transform again, but she also didn't want to cause any trouble and unneeded suspicions. She tried to mentally prepare herself, but with Simon and the scientist's eyes watching her it was rather difficult to do so. Finally finding the courage, Chari took a step towards the flower.

The little dark Shaymin carefully put her black paw on the flower, not feeling any different at first. She nudged her nose on it, before noticing some glowing little pollens spilling out of the flower and coming over to her. She felt energized all of a sudden, and her body was starting to glow. The red grass on her back began to bloom more purple flowers, and her body glowed brighter before it started to change shape, almost like an evolution.

Simon smiled. "It's working."

Chari's legs grew out, her body became different, losing all that grass on her back. Her head and face changed, and two prong-like things grew out from each side at the top. Her neck became slender and a jaded leaf-like scarf grew out from the side. Pretty soon, the transformation was complete. Chari's new form was black like her body, and her new 'hair' and the color of her feet were red, while the jaded leaf scarf was a golden yellow. And the flower was gone.

 _W-whoa! Wh-what… what did I become now? I feel and look so different than I was before!_ Chari thought to herself, feeling adrenaline pumping through her new form.

The scientist smiled at her. "Congratulations Lady Shaymin. You've successfully bonded with a Gracidea flower and taken on your Skye Frome. One step closer to restoring your power. You should be able to change forms at will now."

 _Wh-what? Since when was that a thing?_ Chari was still too shocked by her new form to really stay calm about the whole thing.

The scientist frowned as he flicked through his papers and took out a tablet. "Apparently, you bear more benefits than a normal Shaymin, but more limitations as well. You can only use your Skye Forme in the daytime, and from these readings, it appears that it consumes a lot more energy than your Land Forme, so you'll only be able to use it for a short while before it exhausts you."

Chari frowned at this, but decided to try and move around in this new form. Unlike her previous form, this one had longer legs, so it was a lot easier to walk around like this, even though she was still unused to walking on all fours. She moved her ears a bit. At least, she assumed they're her ears.

 _They called this my… 'Sky Form'...? Does that mean I can fly like this? But how? I don't see any actual wings on me… and I doubt I'm a Psychic type that could levitate myself._ Chari thought to herself as she was still moving around with her new body.

The scientist's tablet pinged, and whatever it showed him caused him to frown. "Sir, the new recruit isn't here. He has today off."

Simon sighed. "A day off? Seriously?"

"It's a legal requirement, sir."

Simon shook his head. "Fine. Get Lord Mew, then. I'm sure he can help Lady Shaymin use her telepathy."

The scientist nodded and walked out of the room.

Chari kept moving around the room until she felt comfortable to walk faster in this form, trying to get used to it. She moved faster with each step, almost to the point of running, before tripping on her own feet and fell flat on her face.

 _Uuugh… I WILL learn how to run!_ Chari grumbled to herself.

Simon actually had to stifle a chuckle. "Try not to push yourself, my Lady. You're still recovering from your imprisonment."

Chari stood back up and tried walking again. By the time she got a running start, the scientist came back with Alex by his side, and this promptly distracted Chari enough for her to trip again.

Alex blinked and bounded over, clearly having become more comfortable with his body than Chari. " _ **They said they wanted me to help you learn telepathy. I wasn't even aware that Shaymin's could do that."**_

" _ **Me neither… um… what do you think of my apparent 'Sky Form'?"**_ Chari asked as she stood back up.

Alex actually smiled. " _ **It fits you. You look powerful. Confident. Which is a first for you."**_

" _ **Really? And you say it FITS me?"**_ Chari chuckled. " _ **Well at least I don't look like some mutated monster. So… uh… how do I even fly in this form?"**_

Alex shrugged. " _ **It's probably not too different from my levitation. We'll just have to wait til it comes to us."**_

" _ **Alright… um… so you're here to teach me how to use telepathy, right? How do I even do that?"**_ Chari asked, feeling more curious than worried.

" _ **From what Espeon told me, every living being produces Psychic energy. And Psychics are people and Pokemon that have learned how to use this energy at will. What you need to do is search your mind for this energy, wrap it in a thought, and send it to whoever you want to talk to."**_

" _ **Uh… I have no idea how to do that at all."**_ Despite herself, Chari gave a grin and a giggle.

Alex smiled at seeing her finally letting loose again. " _ **Just close your eyes and empty your mind of all thoughts. You should find it easily enough. I did."**_

" _ **Alright, I'll give it a try on you,"**_ Chari said before sitting down and closing her eyes. " _ **... Um… what do I do after I empty my mind?"**_

" _ **I have no idea how to even**_ **begin** _ **explaining that. You'll know, though."**_

" _ **Alright…"**_

Chari tried to talk to Alex through her mind, but nothing happened. She gave a small frown at this before she said, " _ **Hey Alex, is there any way that you could show me an example how it works? Maybe I'll have a better understanding of it."**_

Alex was silent for a bit before his voice sounded in her head. ' _Just try and focus on how this feels. That should help.'_

Chari nodded and tried to get a mental grasp on it. She took a deep breath and focused.

' _... Can… you hear this?'_

Alex smiled. " _ **I can,"**_ he said out loud. " _ **Told you it was easy."**_

" _ **Not really, I had to really focus just to get that one message across. I guess it's easier for you since you're a pure Psychic type and all, but at least we know I can do it with just a little more practice,"**_ Chari said.

Alex nodded. " _ **At this rate, it might not actually take too long before we're powerful enough to escape this place."**_

" _ **Yeah, we'll grow stronger and escape, and we'll grow even stronger to make sure they get off our backs!"**_ Chari smiled. It was both strange yet good to see how confident she was. Perhaps it was the form she was currently in.

Alex smiled at her, before growing serious again. " _ **The question is what we'll do once we're out of here."**_

" _ **I'm sure we'll figure it out, for now we should just focus on getting out of here alive,"**_ Chari said. " _ **Until then, let's focus on our training."**_

Alex nodded. " _ **I have to go. They only wanted me here to teach you telepathy, so they'll take me back now that it's done. Good luck."**_

" _ **Thanks, I'll be needing it,"**_ Chari said.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Escape**

 **Hey guys. Posting is going to be a lot more slow going now. I've finally got a job that's keeping me pretty busy, so I don't have as much time to write. Kit and I are still working on chapters in advance, but it's taking a lot more time since we have to coordinate when we're both available to write. Rest assured, I am not abandoning this story. I like how it's going far too much to do that. But I just can't post weekly anymore. Biweekly at best, or probably even monthly. But I _will_ continue posting. You have my word on that.**

For the past several days, Alex and Chari were forced to train with their new bodies by Simon. The two had to work through trial and error to figure out how their own biology worked, thankfully the scientists always had some kind of excuse for them for not being able to figure it out as naturally as Victini and Celebi.

At the end of another day, Alex floated through the halls back to his room, having finally figured out how to do it a couple of days ago. They'd finally learned to use at least their basic powers. Now all they had to do was wait until Purrloin and Espeon were ready. And because the Helix still believed they were the true Dark Mew and Dark Shaymin, they allowed them free roam in the building after a while.

Alex was in his room, thinking to himself, when he heard his door squeaking open. The small Shaymin squeezed herself through the door before she said, " _ **Hey Alex, have you worked on your transformation ability yet?"**_

He nodded. " _ **It's still slow going. It's pretty complicated to get around. It'll probably be several more days before I can actually pull it off. But… I can do this."**_

He closed his eyes for a bit and suddenly, his fur was pink and he opened his eyes and revealed them to be blue. He looked like a regular Mew. He held it for a few seconds before allowing it to fade.

" _ **Whoa, that was pretty cool. You looked like a normal Mew… even though a normal Mew is still not technically normal at all,"**_ Chari chuckled. " _ **But if you don't get it down soon, how would we live out in the real world once we escape? We stick out like a sore thumb as we are now."**_

" _ **We'll just have to live like Pokemon do until I can get it down. But… we'll have to isolate ourselves. I have no idea how wild Pokemon might react to us."**_

" _ **But we're located in the middle of a city. People are going to see us before we can even get to the wild."**_ Chari frowned. " _ **Unless we can disguise ourselves, we're going to get caught either by Helix or any other person out there who sees how rare and unusual we are."**_

" _ **Then we'll just have to move fast. We don't have a choice. I'm pretty sure they're starting to catch onto us. The last scientist I messed up in front of gave me an odd look."**_

" _ **Y-yeah… I hope Espeon and Purrloin are able to get our Pokemon out too, so we wouldn't be alone out there…"**_

As if on cue, the door opened by itself, or rather it was controlled by a psychic power. Espeon walked in.

" _ **Oh good, you're both here. I'm glad I won't have to repeat myself,"**_ Espeon said. " _ **Purrloin and I have it figured out. We can get you two out of here tonight."**_

Alex perked up. " _ **Great! What's the plan?"**_

" _ **My Trainer and I will be going out around evening, they assigned us to find any more potential people to bring in and share your fate. Purrloin can use this time to set your Pokemon free by giving my Trainer their Poke Balls and put them in his bag. But the hard part is getting you two out of here unnoticed. Sneaking out through the front door won't work, they have cameras there, and you, Alex, haven't perfected Transform yet, so we'll have to get you two out the old fashioned way. The air ventilations."**_ Espeon looked up at the wall with said ventilation. " _ **You're both small enough to squeeze through there."**_

Alex looked up and then looked at Chari. " _ **Can you fly yet? If not, I can levitate you up there when we're all ready."**_

" _ **No, I've only worked on this body in its Land Forme. I haven't even tried anything in the Sky Forme yet,"**_ Chari sighed. " _ **I haven't even learned how to walk in that form, let alone fly."**_

" _ **Alright, when you two get into the ventilation, you're going to want to find your way through the maze. Be careful as you look through the vents. Don't let anyone see you, and don't leave the ventilation until you're sure you see a way out,"**_ Espeon said.

Chari nodded before she said, " _ **So when does all this take place?"**_

" _ **When you hear my Trainer call for me to leave,"**_ Espeon answered.

As if on cue, they heard the young man's voice, "Espeon! Espeon where are you? We have to get going now!"

" _ **Good luck. You'll meet up with your Pokemon once you're outside,"**_ Espeon said before turning around and walking out the door.

Alex turned to Chari. " _ **Are you ready?"**_

" _ **It's now or never,"**_ Chari said. " _ **Alright, lift me up there and let's find a way out of this place."**_

Alex first focused on the tightly closed vent before ripping it off it's hinges. Then gently levitated Chari up to the air duct and followed after her.

The two small legendaries squeezed their way through the ventilation system, trying to find a way out. They peered through a window whenever they passed one, but so far none of them lead to a way out.

" _ **How big do you think this is? It could take us hours before we can find a way out…"**_ Chari whispered as they continued through the maze.

" _ **Espeon gave me a map before she left,"**_ Andy said, tapping the side of his head. " _ **I know where to go. But we need to move slowly so we don't make too much noise."**_

" _ **But I'm in front of you… you'll have to tell me which way to go,"**_ Chari said.

Alex nodded. " _ **Take the next left and then a right after two intersections."**_

The Shaymin did just that, following Alex's direction. They were passing by another window, and all it showed was an office with two people in it.

" _ **Wait… is that Zane?"**_ Chari whispered, she hadn't seen Zane since he knocked her out and apparently brought her here.

"All I'm saying is that it's hard to find people like that girl and boy we brought in. People are already in an uproar from the Pokemon Ranger and the other girl that was with them going missing," Zane said to Simon. "If we don't lay low for a while, we're going to get discovered."

"Why did you even kidnap them in the first place!" Simon shouted. "We already had a target for Dark Victini, and she wasn't it! And a Ranger too! Are you dim, boy?"

"I didn't have a choice! They already saw me, it was either take them or get caught either way," Zane growled. "And if I had tried to kill them, that would leave way more evidence than just simply taking them. And anyways, people like that boy Alex and that girl Chari are very hard to come by in this day and age. There are child services, adoptions, heck even Pokemon can take in and raise a human if they wanted to."

Simon frowned. "Those two were prime targets, I'll give you that. But you should have waited for a better opening before taking the girl."

"I had assumed the other two left her alone, so I took that chance to grab her, but I did not know they were simply in hiding. I wasn't aware they made my target bait, if I did then I would not have fallen for it so easily," Zane said. "But it's too late to undo what had happened. I'm sure with Daniel and his Espeon, they'll be able to locate the next prime target for us. They did, after all, pinpoint Alex and Chari for us before."

"You weren't supposed to know, boy. That's the whole point of a trap. Regardless, you should have been able to see right through it anyway. I'm disappointed. I've half a mind to revoke your status as an Admin."

"I apologize, father, and I understand if you revoke my status," Zane said, bowing his head. "Please allow me to make up for my mistake."

By this point, Chari and Alex passed by the window and gotten out of earshot. Alex wondered about Chari. She had never really spoke about her past a lot before, but he had assumed that she lived a normal life like most people did. From what Zane was saying, she might've been kidnapped because people wouldn't fuss over her disappearance, like himself.

" _ **How much further, Alex?"**_ Chari asked, sounding uneasy.

" _ **Just turn left up ahead and it's a straight shot to an external vent."**_

It was a quiet walk through the ventilation as they turned left and head straight. They were coming to another window.

There was a big window and a door that lead outside.

Alex exerted a much softer Psychic force on this one in case there were guards outside. He slowly pried the vent apart and squeezed through it, looking around. They ended up in a dark, vacant alley. He levitated Chari out and they began discussing what to do next.

" _ **Okay… so now what? We hide here for the night?"**_ Chari asked.

" _ **Actually, it's best we move now. Since it's dark, most people will be indoors, and we're less likely to get spotted."**_

" _ **O-okay, but… I hope we don't get lost…"**_

The two of them started leaving the alley before a Purrloin came up to them, holding three Poke Balls in its arms.

" _ **There you two are. Espeon told me to bring these to you. Well… here, and hopefully we won't have to see each other again,"**_ Purrloin said, putting the Poke Balls down in front of them. " _ **Because if we do, it means you've been captured."**_

With that said, Purrloin ran off, leaving them alone.

Alex blinked. " _ **What about Espeon and Daniel?"**_ He asked himself, too late to ask the flighty Dark type.

" _ **They're probably still working for Helix to look for potential people to kidnap,"**_ Chari said. " _ **I think… Espeon is placing her escape from Helix on us now. She got us out, but she couldn't get her and Daniel out by herself."**_

Alex sighed. " _ **If only we could have waited longer."**_ He shook his head and looked around. " _ **Now… where are we exactly?"**_

" _ **Um… well, this is a really big city, but not skyscraper big… I think I see a Ferris Wheel over in the distance… this must be Nimbasa City,"**_ Chari concluded.

Alex nodded. " _ **Not the biggest city. So we shouldn't have to worry too much about getting lost."**_

" _ **Yeah, I was worried this might be in Castelia City. So… where do we go from here?"**_ Chari asked. " _ **I think there's a forest at the west side of Nimbasa City."**_

Alex nodded. " _ **Helix will have a hard time tracking us there. A lot of the forest is unexplored. We should be safe there if we can reach it."**_

" _ **Okay, you… uh… can lead the way. I'll cover the rear…"**_ Chari said nervously.

Alex nodded, and began navigating through the city, mostly sticking to the back alleys to minimize the chance of being spotted.

The two dark Legendaries easily blended right in the darkness. The people that were out and about right now didn't pay them any mind, they were mostly minding their own business. Chari looked over at the neon lights near the carnival part of Nimbasa City as it was close to the forest.

" _ **I really want to explore this place… that looks so pretty…"**_ Chari said.

" _ **Maybe some other time,"**_ Alex said sadly as the continued making their way to the outskirts of the city.

As they were made it to the outskirts, they stopped when a Pokemon Ranger stood at the entrance to the forest. A Herdier stood next to the Pokemon Ranger.

" _ **How are we going to get past them? If we get too close, that Herdier's going to smell us,"**_ Chari hissed.

Alex frowned. " _ **I have no idea. I can fly, but I don't think I could carry you for long enough for us to get past them."**_

" _ **Okay… maybe I can use my Magical Leaf to steer them away,"**_ Chari suggested.

The little Shaymin summoned neon glowing leaves from her back. The leaves floated around her for a few seconds before they flew over the Pokemon Ranger's head and hit some bushes in the opposite direction.

"What was that?" The Pokemon Ranger shined his flashlight at the bushes while his Herdier began barking.

Alex blinked. " _ **You can already use that?"**_ He chuckled. " _ **You're learning faster than I am."**_

" _ **It's one of the first basic attacks a Shaymin can learn, apparently,"**_ Chari shrugged. " _ **Now let's go, before they come back."**_

Alex nodded and continued leading the way, until they finally made it to the brush at the edge of the city. " _ **Now we just have to find the forest."**_

Chari looked around the outskirts. There was plenty of trees and tall grass to hide in, and she presumes that deeper in the trees would be the forest itself. She couldn't help but smile at the nature surrounding her.

" _ **Hey, I see some wild Minccino's sleeping over there,"**_ Chari almost gushed, seeing three Minccino's curled up with each other.

Alex smiled. " _ **Let's keep moving. Wild Pokemon won't take kindly to seeing us."**_

" _ **But the forest is full of wild Pokemon, we can't avoid them all forever,"**_ Chari said. " _ **I doubt we'd survive long if we tried to live in isolation, if that's even possible."**_

" _ **Well, we've got a once-wild Pokemon with us. Huntress knows how to survive well enough alone. She could help us."**_

" _ **Good point… but we're still going to run into wild Pokemon,"**_ Chari said.

They finally made it into the forest. There was a river and a bridge, and mostly trees and grass were surrounding the area.

" _ **Well, we're here,"**_ Chari said. " _ **Lostlorn Forest."**_

Alex looked around, finally beginning to relax as he took in the natural world around him. " _ **Now we just need to find some place to stay."**_

" _ **There's a hollow tree over there, I don't think any Pokemon's living in it,"**_ Chari pointed out in the middle of the tall grass. " _ **It might be good for shelter."**_

Alex nodded and floated over, inspecting it. " _ **It should be big enough for the two of us. We can start focusing and food and such tomorrow."**_

" _ **Alright, good idea. I hope we can eat something other than processed Pokemon food,"**_ Chari said as she walked over to settled into the hollow tree. " _ **Not only are they bland, but I don't think some of them were made right."**_

" _ **We should be fine if we can find some Berries,"**_ Alex said as he floated down to the ground inside. " _ **That's what most wild Pokemon live on."**_

 **"** _ **Well,"**_ Chari said anxiously, _ **"Let's try to get some sleep while we can."**_

The two dark legendary Pokemon nestled in the center with each other, finally able to relax after so many days of tension and fear.

* * *

Chari grumbled when she felt something poking her face. " _ **Quit it…"**_

The poking continued.

" _ **I said stop… just gimme five more minutes…"**_

The poking didn't stop and finally, Chari had enough.

" _ **What is it!?"**_ She snapped, before stopping cold when she saw an Emolga face to face with her, looking at her curiously. " _ **..."**_

" _ **What… are you?"**_ The Emogla asked.

" _ **Uhh… just a Grass type…"**_ Chari said nervously before looking back at the black Mew, still sleeping. " _ **Nobody important, just go about your day."**_

At that point, Alex slowly started to wake up, stretching out and yawning before opening his eyes and freezing at the sight of the Emolga.

" _ **Hello,"**_ Emolga waved. " _ **... You two are weird looking."**_

" _ **There's a reason for that, young Emolga,"**_ A Leavanny spoke up from behind the Emolga. " _ **These are not regular Pokemon."**_

Alex looked at the Leavanny and the Emolga. " _ **We don't mean any harm to anyone,"**_ he said. " _ **We just need a safe place to stay for awhile while we… figure things out."**_

" _ **Do you think Scolipede would let them stay?"**_ Emolga asked the Leavanny.

" _ **No, he won't. You two best be leaving if you know what's good for you,"**_ Leavanny said.

" _ **O-oh please, w-we don't mean any trouble!"**_ Chari begged.

" _ **We have nowhere else to go. And if Helix catches us, we'll be worse than dead."**_ After he said that he sighed. " _ **But you don't care about that. I forgot. You just see Dark Legends."**_ He looked down to Chari. " _ **I told you this would happen if we were found."**_

" _ **Does it matter? We couldn't hide forever,"**_ Chari hissed.

Pretty soon more and more of the forest Pokemon began crowding them. Pidove, Tranquil, Unfezent, Venipede, Pansear, Pansage, Panpour, and Sewaddle were all gathering around them. Each were whispering to each other about who these Pokemon were and why were they here.

Alex sighed again. " _ **We should get going before they try and attack us."**_

" _ **We can't get out, they have us surrounded,"**_ Chari frowned.

Alex looked around. Sure enough, there were Pokemon everywhere, all giving them hostile looks. From the looks of things… they might not get out of this alive.

" _ **Maybe our Pokemon can try to calm them down?"**_ Chari suggested.

" _ **Not a good idea. I don't want them to get hurt if this goes south."**_

Then there was a loud voice that quiet the Pokemon in the forest. " _ **MAKE A PATH!"**_

The Pokemon obediently moved aside as a huge Scolipede marked up to the two. The Solipede studied the dark Mew and the more timid dark Shaymin, who was shaking behind Alex's back.

" _ **You two… what are you doing in this forest?"**_ The Scolipede demanded.

" _ **Hiding,"**_ Alex said honestly.

" _ **Hiding from what?"**_

" _ **Helix. We escaped from them last night and now they're searching for us."**_

" _ **What is this 'Helix'? Why would they take this interest in the Dark Legends?"**_ Scolipede spat that title as if it was venom.

Alex sighed. " _ **I can't even begin to explain how complicated the answer to that question is. If I answer you now, you'll only be confused. And we don't have time to explain the whole story. Helix will have noticed this by now, and they just might burn a path through the forest just to find us."**_

" _ **So you're putting us and this forest in danger because you two decided to come in here?"**_ Scolipede glared dangerously.

Chari yipped and curled up into a tight ball.

Alex glared back, dark energy coalescing around him, though he didn't notice it. " _ **You wouldn't be in danger if you hadn't crowded around us like this. We just want a safe place to hide."**_

The Pokemon in the area began to argue with that.

" _ **Get out of here!"**_

" _ **You're not welcome here!"**_

" _ **Just leave us alone!"**_

The Scolipede let out a loud noise that got them all to shut up, before he turned back to Alex.

" _ **... Alright, I'm a fair Pokemon if nothing else. I sense no hostility from you or your little friend, but I will keep my eyes on you for the time being until you can get back on your feet. Is that fair to you, young Mew?"**_

Alex nodded. " _ **We just need a few days to get our bearings straight and then you'll never see us again."**_

" _ **Very well, but you two are to stick close to me so I can keep an eye on you. Otherwise… you'll never know who might try to sneak up on you at night,"**_ Scolipede said, looking at the angry forest Pokemon.

Alex looked around and nodded. " _ **We don't want any trouble,"**_ he said, sighing yet again. " _ **We never did."**_

" _ **DISPERSE! There is nothing to see here!"**_ The Scolipede shouted at the forest Pokemon.

Many of the Pokemon looked at them before going off somewhere. The only one who didn't react in hostility to them was the Emolga who woke Chari up earlier. It just looked at them curiously before running up a tree.

Alex looked around relieved. " _ **Thank you. I'll explain all of this to you some time. But now is just not a good time. We're still working on accepting what's happened to us."**_

" _ **Just make sure you don't cause any trouble,"**_ Scolipede said.

Chari slowly uncurled herself and looked at the Scolipede before frowning timidly, " _ **Alex… what do we do now?"**_

" _ **We figure out how to survive out here. And then we leave."**_

Chari braved to walk out a little from their hollow tree, the Scolipede looked at her but didn't say or do anything else. Chari slowly came out until she felt the sunlight beating down on her, which felt nice.

" _ **U-um… excuse me, Mr. Scolipede… are there any berries we could eat here?"**_ Chari timidly ask.

Scolipede looked at her before he said, "' _ **Mister'? That's usually a term humans would use… but yes, there are plenty of wild berries you can find and eat here. Just be careful not to eat it in someone else's territory."**_

" _ **Th-thank you,"**_ Chari said gratefully before looking around and walking towards the river. She thought to herself that plants love growing near water, surely she'd find some edible berries there.

Alex quickly followed her to make sure she didn't get herself into trouble on accident. " _ **What do you think we'll find out here? For whatever reason, I'm craving Lum Berries."**_

" _ **I'm not sure. I've never had to forage for food in the wild before…"**_ Chari said as she looked at some of the bushes. " _ **Well… I see Oran berries. Think you can live with those?"**_

For whatever reason, Alex was disappointed. " _ **I guess. We need food, after all, so we can't afford to be picky."**_

" _ **Alright, let's eat some then."**_

When Chari took a small Oran berry that would fit in her tiny mouth, she chewed on it before scrunching up her face and spitting it out. " _ **Blah! Ugh! That's bitter!"**_

Alex frowned. " _ **Really?"**_ He said, taking one and chewing it, before swallowing. " _ **They taste fine to me."**_

" _ **Maybe I had a bad one, can you give me one of the bigger ones?"**_ Chari asked.

Alex nodded and picked one of the berries, concentrating his Psychic energy to slice a small piece of it off before giving it to Chari.

Chari took a bite out of the Oran berry and shook her head, " _ **That's a little better, but still pretty bitter to me. How can you like this stuff?"**_

" _ **Hey!"**_

Emolga glided down from the tree and used a small Aerial Ace on an apple it was holding, cutting it up into small piece and giving some to Chari. " _ **Why don't you try this? It's a lot better than Oran berries."**_

" _ **Really? T-thank you!"**_ Chari smiled before noming on the apple slices. " _ **Wow, this apple is delicious!"**_

Alex tilted his head. " _ **I guess since we're different Pokemon, we have different tastes."**_

" _ **Yeah, I know some Venipedes and Pansage who love Oran berries too, but I can't stand them,"**_ Emolga said. " _ **So… can either of you two fly?"**_

" _ **... Alex here can,"**_ Chari said.

Alex nodded. " _ **Why do you ask?"**_

" _ **I wanted to ask if either of you'd be interested in flying with me. The Pidoves and Tranquils never want to fly with me because they're too scared that I would shock them, and nobody else I know can fly,"**_ Emolga said. " _ **I'd like to see what you two can do."**_

" _ **You're… not scared of us?"**_ Chari asked.

Emolga shook its head, " _ **Nah, why would I be scared of you? Because you're some 'Dark Legend'? I don't care what you are, you both seem pretty friendly to me."**_

Alex smiled before frowning and sighing. " _ **You should stay away from us,"**_ he said sadly. " _ **You might see us as friendly, but all of the other Pokemon here would probably hurt us if they got the chance. And I don't want to put you in danger of getting caught in the crossfire."**_

" _ **Oh I wouldn't worry about those stuck up pricks,"**_ Emogla said as it rolled its eyes. " _ **They'd see one strange little Pokemon who isn't like them and yell bloody murder. It's not the first time they did that with different colored Pokemon."**_

Alex hesitated at this. " _ **I… still don't want you to get hurt. We're not like other Pokemon they may have reacted to. They're afraid of us, and they hate us. And for good reason."**_

"' _ **Good reason', huh? Well whatever. If you really were that dangerous, then why didn't you just fight back or teleport away? Legends like you could've easily done so,"**_ Emolga said, crossing its arms.

Alex bit his lip. " _ **We've been having… difficulty with our abilities. If it had come down to a fight, we'd probably be dead by now."**_

" _ **We uh… we're not too familiar with our abilities,"**_ Chari admitted.

The Emogla stared at the two before it said, " _ **Seriously? … Hmm… we need to teach you then, or you're not going to last very long in life. Even if Pokemon didn't act hostile towards you, you've got those Helix guys after you, yes? So basic combat will be needed."**_

Alex sighed. " _ **I don't want to fight. I never did."**_ He blinked away tears that were beginning to build up. " _ **I just wanted to find an old friend. I never asked for any of this."**_

" _ **Yeah well, life isn't fair. This isn't about whether or not you want it, it's about survival. If you want to live long and escape those Helix guys, then I suggest you suck it up and learn,"**_ Emolga said firmly. " _ **I think one of you will benefit more if you had a Grass type teacher."**_

Alex nodded. " _ **We have some companions with us that can help. One of them is a Grass Type."**_

" _ **You do? Alright then, they can help the Shaymin here to learn her Grass type nature. As for you… well… you're a Psychic type, right? Do you have anyone with you that could help you with that?"**_ Emolga asked Alex.

Alex shook his head. " _ **We used to, but she got separated from us. But she taught me enough that I can learn on my own. I just need time."**_

" _ **Hmm… do you have anyone who could teach you anything?"**_ Emogla asked.

Chari spoke up, " _ **We have a Purrloin… who could probably teach him some basic claw attacks."**_

" _ **... That'll do. I'll help you guys get motivated,"**_ Emogla said.

Alex nodded. " _ **Do you have a name?"**_ He asked.

Emolga just gave a smile before it said, " _ **Nah, I'm a wild Emolga… we don't have nicknames."**_

Alex frowned. " _ **I'd have thought Wild Pokemon would at least have names to set themselves apart from others."**_

" _ **Nope, we reserve that right for if or when a human trainer captures us,"**_ Emogla said. " _ **Anyways, why don't you introduce me to your friends?"**_

Alex nodded, smiling at the Electric Type. For now, it seemed, things would be going their way.


End file.
